


Dark Reflections

by ADancingPanda



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Main Video Game Series)
Genre: Gen, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Minor Dande | Leon/Kibana | Raihan, Mirror Universe, Slight Parental Neglect, Two Leons, also based on Hansel and Gretel, attempt at creepiness and humor, kidnappings, kinda based on Coraline so y'all know what that means
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-26
Updated: 2020-11-04
Packaged: 2021-03-07 00:08:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 11
Words: 25,355
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26117761
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ADancingPanda/pseuds/ADancingPanda
Summary: Bede and a lonely Hop find their way into a world similar to their own, and Hop realizes that he doesn't want to leave. He gets everything he wants in this new, better world, but there's something not quite right with his other brother.
Relationships: Beet | Bede & Hop, Dande | Leon & Hop
Comments: 47
Kudos: 61





	1. Into the Woods

**Author's Note:**

> Hello!
> 
> This fic was inspired by Coraline and the idea of parallel worlds, but it doesn't follow the story line very much. This is also unrelated to my other fics and Gloria is the Champion in this one. Please enjoy!

When Hop sat down for dinner that night, he kept his head down and ate forkfuls of lukewarm mashed potatoes and roasted chicken with gravy. His mother and grandfather chatted in between bites about their day, about Champion Gloria’s speech, and about Leon’s new promotion to Chairman of Galar.

“What about you, dear? Has Professor Sonia promoted you yet?” It took him a few belated seconds to realize his mother asked him a question. He looked up to see them stare expectantly at him.

“Oh, um…not yet. She says I’m not ready to be her senior assistant yet,” he replied before shoving another forkful of bland chicken in his mouth. His mother tutted.

“Still? Hop, sweetie, Professor Magnolia already promoted Victor a month ago.”

“I know, mum.”

“Son, you’re not slacking off, are you? Those punks in Spikemuth better not be distracting you,” his grandfather said. He dabbed his mouth with a napkin after swallowing a bite.

“I’m not, granddad. Marnie and Piers are busy with their own jobs.” He considered himself a good student, but he often scared wild Pokémon away by accidentally trampling their habitats. Once or twice he’d gotten reprimanded by the research community. “I’ll try harder, I promise.”

When he visited Leon in Wyndon the next day after work, his brother dragged himself to the couch with a yawn.

“I’m really sorry, Hoppy, I know you wanted to have game night tonight with Rai, Piers, and I but I’m just too tired. How about next week?” he asked with a sigh as he sunk into the cushions. Hop glanced at the game console covered in layers of dust next to the telly and a copy of an old game that lay forgotten next to it.

“Yeah, that’s fine.”

They ended up ordering takeaway from the local Unovian pizza joint across the street. Midway through the meal, Leon nodded off and Hop had to move the plate away before his older brother woke with a forehead covered in cheese and sauce.

He finished his meal, ignoring the bright flashes and soft sounds coming from the telly, and retreated to the guest room after covering the sleeping man with a blanket.

* * *

Hop pushed past the growing flocks of fans and reporters who circled around their new Champion. From the constant requests for selfies, autographs, and the media hounding her, Gloria failed to notice his hand waving and sticking out of the crowd. She took the pen and paper shoved under her nose and signed her name, all the while making idle chatter with her beloved fans.

"Here you go! Hope to see ya in the Gym Challenge next year!" She gave the autograph to a girl the same age as her, who clutched the paper to her chest in star-struck adoration.

"Glo! Glo, over here! Stop pushin' over there! Oh, come off it, you pushed first! I'm here to see my friend!" Hop gave the bloke next to him the two-fingered salute. He broke through the front row and nearly stumbled into Gloria. She and those nearest to her turned to him. "Finally...I've been...tryin' to get your attention, Glo!" After being sandwiched between hot, sweaty bodies, he drank in the fresh air like a parched man in a desert drank water.

"Hop? What're ye doin' here?" Gloria crossed her arms with a bemused and playful twinkle in her eye. "You could've texted or called me, y'know."

"Yeah, well, I heard you were gonna be in the area for a meet 'n greet and decided to drop by." He also really wanted to see her in-person but his tongue tied at the thought of admitting it in front of a large audience. "You still up for later today?"

"Oi, is this tosser bothering ya, Champ?" A gaggle of teenage boys laughed and one of them raised his eyebrows suggestively at her. "'Cuz we can take care o' him for you!"

"It's just the former Champ's stupid, weak brother. Him and his Dubwool couldn't even make it to the finals!" another said. Hop bristled and would've given them the two-fingered salute as well had Gloria not stepped up, cracking her knuckles.

"Any of ye insult my rival again and you'll have me Cinderace to contend with!" She threw a Pokéball into the air and from it, a fiery, athletic rabbit descended with a flip. As her starter juggled a pebble between his feet, she performed her "Cinderace Pose": a flip backwards, one leg planted, the other raised high to the side as if in mid-kick. Her fans erupted into cheers at her signature pose. Now, Hop idolized his brother and found his "Charizard Pose" inspiring, but he'd be damned if he didn't think Gloria had the coolest pose ever.

"Whoa, s-sorry, Champ!" The leader of the boys raised his hands and backed down. Cinderace cast one last dirty glare at them before standing tall and basking in the crowd's praise.

"Sorry about that, mate. I love the fans, I do, but you gotta kick 'em into line sometimes," said Gloria with a chuckle, turning her attention back to her childhood friend, "anyway, I hate to bail on you, but I have to prepare for the exhibition matches comin' up. I'm supposed to go up against some hotshots from Kanto and Hoenn so I need all the trainin' I can get. What 'bout same time next week, Hoppy?"

The "same time next week", she said that last week, and the week before that too. Hop lost count at how many times she put off their buddy time together. Then again, she _was_ the Champion of Galar and had her hands full with the duties that entailed such a position. He, a failed trainer with no notable characteristics other than being Leon's kid brother, felt he had no right to demand she open up her schedule.

"Oh...sure, of course. Sorry, Glo." He smiled and rubbed the back of his head. Gloria must've noticed his embarrassment for she patted him on the shoulder.

"Hey, I'm sure Vic's not too busy. You could try askin' him." Hop already knew the answer to that. Victor would look up from his textbooks on Pokémon habitats and anatomy with an exasperated stare and tell him he was too busy to hang out. Then he'd tell Hop to ask his sister.

Hop nodded and bid her farewell. He tried to ignore the way some people in the crowd jeered and mocked him.

* * *

“I don’t mind an audience, but don’t you have anything better to do than to watch us train?” Ballonlea’s gym leader cast a cool eye to the “intruder” standing in the near-empty stadium while Hatterene waved her hat hand with a giggle.

“Good to see you too, Bede,” Hop replied with a lopsided smile and a playful glint in his golden eyes. "If I’m bothering you, I’ll go.”

“I didn’t say you had to leave.” Bede called back the Hatterene into her Pokéball. “In fact, Hatty and I just finished for the day.” His face suddenly turned a light pink as if he realized he’d forgotten something important. “Would…would you like some tea? Ms. Opal and I always have tea right after noon.”

Hop’s smile became wider and softer, a first in many moons.

“If Grams doesn’t mind, sure, I’d love some.” They strolled out of the gym and into the town proper. A couple of Morelull bounced on the tall fluorescent mushrooms dotted around Ballonlea while some daring children attempted to climb up to join them. They turned and started for Opal’s cottage near the entrance to Glimwood Tangle.

“Be mindful not to call her that. I don’t want her to flip another table,” said Bede. He repressed a memory of his mentor looming over him, parasol raised like a club, with a shiver. Hop arched an eyebrow but nodded.

Fresh pots of tea and platters of scones and crumpets awaited them in Opal’s quaint, one-story cottage. Aromas of freshly picked mint tea leaves and oven-baked pastries wafted around them as the three of them chatted and bit into warm flaky bread.

“Thanks for the tea and snacks, Gr- Ms. Opal!” Hop set down his empty teacup and mimicked the way the elderly woman gently dabbed at her mouth with the napkin.

“Anytime, child. I’m glad my young protégé is finally making some friends.” She hid her growing smile behind a well-timed sip of tea as said protégé blushed and stammered.

A soft knock came at the front door, followed by an equally timid high-pitched voice that filtered through the ancient mahogany wood.

“H-Hullo? Ms. Opal? M-Mr. Bede?”

Bede glanced at the other two occupants in the room. He stood up and made his way to the door, Hop followed next by jumping out of his seat, and Opal used her parasol as a cane to hoist herself up and hobble over. Before he opened the door, he willed away the redness in his cheeks by taking a deep breath.

A pair of children, no older than seven, stood on the doormat. The girl bit her lip as tears gathered on her eyelashes and the boy stared at the ground. Bede’s initial aloofness melted away at the pitiful sight and he knelt to usher the children closer.

“Primrose, Aster, what’s wrong?” he asked, placing his hands on her right shoulder and his left shoulder, respectively. “It’s not your mum, is it?” Primrose sniffled and rubbed her nose raw.

“N-No, mum’s fine, Mr. Bede,” she hiccupped, “it’s Hans and Grendel, t-they’ve been gone since yesterday morning. They didn’t even come home for supper last night!”

“They go out and play in the woods often, but they always come back before dark,” said Aster. He chanced a peek up at the gym leader through curly brown bangs, only to look back down with a shy smile when Bede’s eyes twinkled at him.

“Perhaps they’ve lost their way back. Don’t fret, you two, I’ll find them.” Bede patted their shoulders. Behind him, Opal cleared her throat.

“Bede, you and the boy should team up to find dear Hans and Grendel. This would be a good opportunity to improve your teamwork skill,” she said. She leaned on her parasol with one wrinkled hand and gestured with another to Hop, who had watched the entire exchange with muted curiosity.

Bede couldn’t stop the grimace from showing on his face or the way his shoulders tensed, but he nonetheless stood up and turned to Hop.

“Well, are you going to join me or not?”

“Of…Of course! I’d love to help.” Hop nodded and slung the bag he left on his chair over his shoulder. Primrose gave them a watery smile.

“Thank you, M-Mr. Bede and…um, Mr. Leon’s brother!”

Hop and Bede waved to Opal and the children as they set out into the Glimwood Tangle. When they walked out of sight, Bede saw Hop’s smile grow a little dimmer.

* * *

Hans and Grendel were, as Bede explained to him, a pair of Impidimp that Primrose and Aster befriended years ago. While mischievous and with a penchant for raiding people’s houses, they often played with and protected their human companions.

While Hop’s feet crunched on fallen leaves, Bede took extra care to avoid them. The former learned not to shout for missing Pokémon; he learned that lesson with a few scratches and a couple of just-woken Bewear on his tail. He focused on searching for the telltale pink bodies of Impidimp, only to forget to watch his step.

The younger boy tripped over a protruding root and landed in a large shrub. A Morgrem’s head popped out to glare at the trespasser in its home, and the next thing Hop knew, he found himself kicked out face-first into the mossy earth.

“It’s no wonder the Professor hasn’t promoted you yet. Clearly your stomping would wake even a Trevenant.” Bede regretted his words the moment they left his mouth. Hop’s lips quivered and his eyes took on a glassy film. He ignored the outstretched hand and picked himself up, brushing off the leaves and dirt that stuck to his face.

Bede dropped the hand. He instead rubbed the puffy sleeve of his long magenta jacket and averted his gaze to the side.

“Here…let me show you how to do it.” Hop watched him step around the piles of leaves, his legs swerving in some sort of stealthy dance, and followed his lead all the while still keeping an eye out for the Impidimp. He angled too wide once but ended up making far less noise than before. Bede nodded and offered a small smile.

“Not bad. Keep practicing and you’ll be able to surprise the stealthiest Pokémon around.” Hop returned the smile and continued his crouching dance.

“...Everybody expects me to get things right the first time, probably because Lee always does, so…thanks, Bede,” he whispered to his friend.

They soon came across a pair of slim, oval footprints that lacked the toe digits of other Pokémon in the forest. Their Pokédex confirmed the tracks were the same as those that Impidimp left. At some point deeper in the forest, the two set of tracks became just one. Bede stopped and scratched his head, which caused tufts of curly white hair to stick out further.

A screech rang out ahead. A lone Impidimp noticed them and jumped as he waved his arms about. It stood next to a hollowed out tree that made for a rather cramped tunnel.

“Grendel?” They jogged up to the babbling imp. A frown replaced the perpetual grin indicative of their species and his three-fingered hands wrung themselves. “Grendel, where’s Hans?”

“How can you tell which one’s which?” Hop asked.

“Grendel’s got a nick in his left ear here, see? Hans has a scar on his right cheek from an Indeedee attack.” The Impidimp began to crawl into the tunnel, only stopping to turn around and wave for them to follow him. “C’mon, Grendel knows where he is.”

The three of them exited the other end to find a seemingly endless path flanked on both sides with rotted, twisted trees. Hop gulped – the hairs on his arms raised when he could no longer hear the chittering and rustling of roaming Pokémon. By his side, Bede tensed up.

“I’ve never seen this part of the forest before…” They walked down the dirt path. Grendel stayed ahead of them. His confident strut belied his hunched shoulders and the occasional shiver.

The Impidimp suddenly stopped, causing Hop to nearly bump into Bede. Grendel sniffed the air and reached out to paw at seemingly nothing. Instead, the space before them rippled and his three fingers disappeared.

Hop turned to Bede, who looked as wide-eyed as he was. Grendel strolled into the distorted space and vanished completely.

“We have to find Hans,” said Bede repeatedly. Hop nodded. They steeled themselves and ran through the portal.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I thought since Hop's spirited and a bit brash, he would have some trouble with the fieldwork that comes with being a Pokémon professor or assistant. He'd need to be quiet to observe them in their habitats, after all.
> 
> Bede's still a bit rude, but Opal's training is starting to take effect. I think at some point after the game, him and Hop could be friends even if Bede never formally apologizes for his behavior.
> 
> For anyone unaware, the "two-fingered salute" in the UK, Australia, and a couple of other places is the equivalent to the middle finger. It's like the peace sign, but the back of the hand usually faces the person being insulted.


	2. The Gingerbread House

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hop meets his other brother.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Title refers to the gingerbread house in Hansel and Gretel, where the outside is wonderful and appealing while the inside hides a dark secret.
> 
> Inspired by Coraline and fairy tales in general. Boy, I wish I could write like Neil Gaiman...

After a moment’s disorientation, the boys found themselves back at the entrance of the log tunnel. Grendel was nowhere to be seen.

“What…what was _that_?” Hop finally asked once they regained their bearings.

“My head…” Bede blinked and held his head as he shook it. “Whatever that was didn’t do much. Not much else to do but to find Hans and Grendel. We should stop by town first and let Primrose and Aster know we found Grendel at least.” Hop grunted his approval.

They trekked back to Ballonlea using the same path they took earlier. Throughout their short trip, they caught no sign of the Impidimp anywhere. Perhaps Grendel had gone off to look for Hans on his own, Bede thought.

The town was as tranquil as when they left. Hop stayed outside while Bede went into the siblings’ family home. He watched a Swirlix play hide-and-seek with a few children and chuckled when the Pokémon floated up a mushroom stalk to find a child hiding on top with her hands over her eyes.

Bede returned after fifteen minutes, but Hop picked up a disturbance the instant he noticed his vacant, faraway stare and robotic movements. His already fair skin somehow paled further.

“Hey, what’s wrong, mate?” He resisted the urge to place a hand on the other boy’s shoulder, knowing that that would earn him a glare and rebuke.

“Prim and Aster…they’re…they’re dead. And their mum didn’t even recognize me…” Tears welled up and his eyebrows scrunched in response as if betrayed by the action. “I asked around and nobody even knows who Hans and Grendel are…”

“That’s got to be a mistake or an awful prank. Maybe Grams knows?” Hop bit his lip, feeling nervous laughter bubbling up. Laughing would only upset his friend more.

“Ms. Opal…yes, she’d know.” Bede turned to the stadium nestled at the other end of town.

The gym trainers inside gave them strange looks and even stranger ones when Bede told them he was the gym leader.

“Kid, if you wanna be one that badly, go ask Ms. Opal. She’s always auditioning people to take over for her one day.” Bede doubted that this was all a prank, not with the way the gym trainers dismissed him.

Opal didn’t reassure him any more than the others. She glanced him over, no recognition or warmth in her aged face.

“I haven’t chosen a replacement yet, child, but you would work splendidly. That jacket just screams pink!” Bede weakly smiled and backed away.

“N-No, I’m…fine. Thank you for the offer, Ms. Opal.”

“Pity. But if you change your mind, you know where to find me.” Opal started to hobble off before she took note of the one standing next to him. “Boy, you look just like the Chairman’s younger brother.” Hop raised an eyebrow.

“I am. Is Lee looking for me?” Opal nearly dropped the parasol she held onto. She gasped, covering her painted lips with her free hand.

“Oh my…but you’re…oh, pardon me, children.” She walked off as fast as she could with her substitute cane, leaving the two of them staring after her.

“What’s Grams’ problem?” asked Hop once she was out of earshot. Bede stared off blankly.

They ended up sitting on one of the benches in the gym that was closest to the entrance. The gym trainers gave them the occasional odd look.

“It’ll be okay! We’ll find Hans and Gren and then we’ll head back home, Bede,” Hop said to the slouched boy, “maybe they’ll find each other! They know the forest better than we do.” Bede only nodded.

They sat together, mulling over their thoughts, when the sound of a deep roar and shouts shook the area. The commotion even shook Bede out of his brooding trance. After exchanging glances, they simultaneously jumped up and ran out of the gym.

In the center of town, a Charizard flew above the buildings and circled a few times before descending to the ground. Its long, orange wings disturbed the grass beneath with its flapping. The familiar man riding it looked out into the gathered and whispering crowd, his gaze passing over every face.

Hop frowned; it wasn’t like his older brother to ignore an audience. He approached him anyway.

“Lee? What’re you doing here?”

All eyes, including Leon’s, fell on him. Leon dismounted from the flying lizard’s back and stepped forward, his movements shaky and his expression pinched.

“…H-Hop? Hop, is that r-really you?” Hop never heard his voice sound as weak and broken as it did now.

“Of course it’s me! What’s going on? You and Ms. Opal are acting-” The next thing he knew, Leon had closed the distance between them and swept him into a crushing hug. The rest of the words died on his lips when he felt his brother’s shoulders shake and heard his breathing come out as harsh, choked sobs.

Hop glanced at his friend with questioning eyes; Bede only shrugged in return. Eventually, the crowd dispersed to give them privacy.

“Lee…? It’s, uh, it’s okay, big bro. I’m here now.” He patted Leon’s back. How odd, to be the one comforting after the numerous times he went to his big brother because of a bad dream or bullies or a scraped knee. In long forgotten memories, he remembered those words to his younger self: “It’s okay, little bro. I’m here now”.

Through muffled cloth and snot, he could hear barely coherent words form sentences.

“H-How…you were g-gone, Hoppy, m-missed you so much…thank Arceus…” Gone? He knew they weren’t in their world anymore, so what had happened to this world’s version of himself? Had he run away?

He decided not to dwell on it, not when he felt warmness envelop his entire being. He couldn’t recall the last time anyone had hugged him.

Once most of his tears had dried up, Leon pulled away slightly to examine him over. His lips stretched into a wobbly smile.

“I still c-can’t believe it…everyone’ll be over the moon to see you…” He finally seemed to notice Bede hanging off to the side, attempting to focus on anything but them. “You’re Hopscotch’s friend, aren’t you? Thank you so much for bringing him back to me.” Bede shuffled in place, a quirked half-smile in place of his set frown, and flushed.

“It’s no problem, sir.”

“Now let’s go home, little bro. Your friend can come too, if he wants.” Leon began to lead him back to Charizard, who nuzzled into the boy’s touch. Hop frowned and shook his head.

“I can’t, Lee. I…I have a home elsewhere. We’re not really from here.” He almost wished he had said nothing at all and complied, for the way his brother’s face crumpled in dismay tugged at his heart.

“So you’re not my…” Leon trailed off and sighed. “Will you at least stay for a while? It’s getting awfully late anyway.” Hop glanced toward the horizon where the sun started to dip below the trees.

“I guess so. Bede?” The white haired boy hesitated, turning towards the entrance of the forest where only shadows resided, before he nodded and joined them.

* * *

“Wow, Lee, this is delicious!”

Hop shoveled forkfuls of still-hot roasted chicken with mashed potatoes and gravy into his mouth, having subsisted on nothing but berries and trail mix throughout the day. Juice from the tender chicken dribbled from his mouth. Bede curled his lip at the display and ate with far more dignity. He voiced his compliments to the chef.

“Now, now, you’re gonna choke if you don’t chew, Hop. Here.” Leon passed a napkin to him. Hop accepted it and wiped at his chin.

“Where’d you learn to cook so well, Lee? Doesn’t Rai do most of the cooking?” asked Hop in between bites.

“Why would Raihan cook for me? I’ve always lived alone, so I dabbled with some recipes and got pretty good at it.” Leon tilted his head with a quirked eyebrow and a confused smile and Hop really did almost choke on his food at that.

He never imagined a world where his brother wasn’t dating Hammerlocke’s gym leader.

“Never mind.”

After dinner and the plates were washed, the two boys retired to bed early. While Bede took the guest room, Hop found his room the same as it was in his world – posters, action figures, Wooloo plush, and all.

“I left everything as it was.” Leon placed a hand on his shoulder, a somewhat bitter tang in his tone. “Mum didn’t have the heart to clean out your old room in Postwick either.”

Hop had the sudden urge to find his other self and throttle him for running away and leaving his family behind, for making Leon so sad.

‘That’s exactly what I’m doing, though,’ he thought, ‘I wonder if Lee and everyone else back home noticed that I’m gone?’

He changed into his pajamas and tucked himself into bed. When his other brother came to check on once more, he pulled the covers up higher so it covered Hop’s shoulders and pressed a kiss to his forehead. Hop made a face.

“C’mon, Lee, I’m not five years old anymore.” He stuck his tongue out and Leon laughed gently.

“I know, sorry. Just this once, alright?”

“…Fine,” Hop grumbled. He secretly smiled to himself when his brother turned the lights off.

As he fell into a deep slumber, he swore he heard the faint sound of crying come from below.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, reviews, criticisms, or thoughts are appreciated!


	3. Lost Children

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hop learns some unsettling discoveries and Bede tries to be a good friend.

When Hop came down for breakfast the next morning, Bede and Leon were already halfway through their pancakes. His mouth watered at the syrupy, sugary aroma.

“Morning, little bro. They’re still warm so eat up,” said Leon. Hop sat down and poured a heaping of maple syrup onto his own pancakes before cutting large chunks off and biting into them. Bede had his lightly drizzled with syrup and diced into smaller cubes. “Sleep well?”

“Yeah!” He remembered to swallow and wipe his mouth with a napkin before speaking. Hunger, as their Granddad would say, was no excuse for poor manners. “‘Cept I heard this really strange sound last night before I fell asleep.”

“Oh? What kind of noise?” asked Leon, setting his fork and knife down. Bede continued to eat, though he glanced at him out of the corner of his eye.

“It sounded like someone crying. Might’ve been the wind outside or a dream, I dunno…” Even as he said it out loud, he realized how foolish it must’ve sounded. He felt the tips of his ears grow hot. “What about you, Bede?” The other boy shook his head.

“You always did have an active imagination, Hop,” said Leon. Hop’s blush deepened as he remembered the time he ran to his brother’s room because he thought he saw a Gengar under his bed. “Still, I’ll take a look into it later.”

After breakfast, Leon disappeared in search of the noise’s source and Hop tuned into the local news in the living room. He wondered what else was different in this new, yet familiar world. While he sat cross-legged on the couch, Bede hung beside it.

He flipped to a channel where an aerial shot above Spikemuth City zoomed in to reveal Piers hosting a concert. Among the sea of fans and tourists, Hop picked out the occasional magenta and black clothing of Team Yell members. The crowd’s cheers intensified when Marnie and her Morpeko appeared onstage, the former joining her brother in a duet.

Hop smiled. At least one thing remained the same here.

Another channel showed the inside of Wyndon Stadium. A reporter with one finger in his ear shouted into a camera over the din of spectators.

“We’re live down at Wyndon Stadium, folks, where the Champion is preparing for the next exhibition match against Kanto’s famed dragon master: Lance!” Both of them perked at that.

“Wonder how Glo did against Champion Steven yesterday,” muttered Hop more to himself than anyone else. He had meant to show up to watch her match after visiting Bede, and now he wondered if she had been disappointed at his absence.

“I hate to admit it, but if our Champion outclasses even us, she’ll be more than a match for all the other regional Champions. Besides, if she wins, people will take an interest in Galar and therefore, they’ll realize just how strong Fairy-types are.” Despite his grudging words and hesitant respect, nobody could miss the way the Gym Leader’s eyes sparkled with pride.

“I hope they do. People should know how strong you and Gloria are!” said Hop, his hands curled into determined fists. Bede startled at his outburst at first until a warm, pleasant feeling spread inside of him. His friend’s support felt different from ex-Chairman Rose’s support – more genuine and less self-serving.

“…T-Thank you…” he said, hating how small his voice was. Hop didn’t seem to realize or care, and smiled brilliantly at him once again.

“It looks like the Champion has arrived!” The reporter shook them out of their camaraderie with a new announcement. Smoke billowed into the entrance to the field where a tall shadow appeared. “Folks, let’s hear it for our newly crowned Champ: _Raihan_!”

Silence hovered over them for a minute. And then…

“Wait…Rai’s the Champion?” The remote tumbled out of Hop’s slack fingers and clattered on the ground. Bede mouthed the same question he had. Raihan stepped onto the field, waving at his adoring fans.

“I couldn’t find what was making the noise you heard but- oh, what’s wrong, little bro? You look so surprised.” Leon walked into the room, his elbows and T-shirt lightly covered in dust. He glanced at the TV screen. “It’s just Raihan.”

“Sorry, I’m just…well, in our world, Rai’s not the new Champion, Gloria is,” Hop said, scratching the back of his head sheepishly. Leon’s expression shifted from worriedness to confusion in the span of a second.

“Who’s Gloria?”

This time, the silence seemed to stretch even longer.

“You’re k-kidding, right?” Hop asked, chuckling nervously before he could stop it. When Leon shook his head, a confused look still in place, his smile fell and a laugh died in his throat. “She and her brother Victor live in Postwick! You endorsed her and I for the Gym Challenge, remember?”

“I only remember endorsing you- I mean, the other you. Nobody’s moved into that house near us since the last couple moved out.”

A tightness constricted Hop’s heart and his hands began to feel clammy. Without Gloria or Victor and with an older brother who couldn’t visit home as much anymore, he started to understand how his counterpart felt. His other self never had anyone to play hopscotch with, run around in the fields by the woods, spend late nights trying to beat that last level on ‘Ultra Man’, or to confide in when he felt lonely or scared…

He didn’t realize he’d been crying until a pair of arms wrapped around his back and a low voice whispered assurances in his ear.

Bede reached a hand out towards him, stopped mid-way, and then left it hanging there, unsure. His lips pursed. Ms. Opal’s training never prepared him for this. Tentatively, he inched his hand forward until it rested against Hop’s shoulder, and then patted it. Leon saw his struggle and nodded encouragingly.

“Those two mean a lot to you, don’t they?” he asked. He felt his brother’s head move against his chest.

“T-They do…’re my first f-friends, but…” And then Hop spilled everything, from befriending the twins, to his and Gloria’s first battle, to the crushing feeling that he would never be as strong as her, to losing in the Champion Cup despite giving it his all, to accepting his role as the Professor’s assistant, and to feeling forgotten by everyone he loved. He left out Bede’s role in the story, knowing that would bring his other brother’s wrath down on his new friend.

Leon and Bede listened to him babble in increasing alarm. The latter shrunk into himself while the former tightened his grip on Hop, his hands curling into fists.

“I’m so sorry, Hopscotch, they should’ve never ignored you. It’s okay now,” whispered Leon. If Bede had glanced up, he would’ve seen the dangerous glint in the man’s hardened gold eyes and a glare that bore holes into the wall. “You’ll never have to feel that way again.”

Hop sniffled and hiccupped. A deep shame burned within him.

‘Damn it, Hop, you’re such an idiot. Lee doesn’t want to hear your stupid troubles and Bede’s gonna think you’re a crybaby.’ His mind went into overdrive with similar thoughts and scenarios where they ridiculed and shunned him.

The insults never came, not even from Bede.

* * *

Bede raised a fist to knock on the door. He halted centimeters from the painted wood. And then he kicked the soft carpet beneath him, scratched his head, and groaned.

The door opened before he could muster the courage to try to knock again. Hop stood, decked in blue Wooloo-printed pajamas, and with bleary eyes still slightly red-rimmed. At the white-haired boy’s surprised look, he snorted.

“I could hear you from the bed, y’know. C’mon in before Lee wakes up and starts wondering why we’re still up at two in the mornin’.” Bede shuffled in past him and rooted himself in the middle of the room. He eyed the posters, action figures, and comic books with a longing. Dimly, he remembered having a room such as this before his family fell into hard times and had to sell the house.

“What’re you waiting for, mate? Sit on the bed, or the chair, if you like.” Hop himself sat on the left side of the bed so Bede took the chair instead. The bed looked a little too small for both of them to comfortably fit on, even if Hop didn’t think so.

They sat in heavy silence. Bede stared at his hands.

“Sorry you had to see that earlier,” said Hop after a few minutes. Again with the nervous laughter. He really needed to find a way to curb it. “Something just kinda…snapped, I dunno. But it’s okay now! I’m fine, rea-”

“I’m sorry,” Bede cut him off, his voice almost too soft to hear. Hop’s mouth stayed open in mid-sentence and his eyebrows shot up high enough to touch his short purple bangs. “I thought you were some rich, spoiled kid who had it easy because his brother was the Champion. When I first saw you at the opening ceremony with that carefree attitude and that stupid grin, I got…got...” He dropped his face into his hands and sighed.

When Hop didn’t respond at first, he thought he had screwed everything up. Then he heard giggling.

“Weird, I thought the same ‘bout you, y’know, the stuck-up and rich part. Guess we were both wrong, huh?” Bede looked up in a huff but couldn't help but smile and join in on the laughter.

"I'm not from some aristocratic upbringing," said Bede, snorting, "my parents weren't even that wealthy. When the former Chairman first visited me, he treated me as though I was one..." He still sometimes thought of the man he once considered a surrogate father, and every time he did, he felt a pang of guilt and embarrassment for the things he did and the people he stepped on just to impress him. "I don't understand why you still want to hang around with me and be my friend after I accused you of dragging your brother's name in the mud." Both of them quickly sobered at that.

Throughout his own separate journey, Hop had heard whispers here and there about Bede's past before he became a trainer and a gym leader. Between speculation and facts, one theme tied them all together: Bede had spent a good chunk of his childhood alone in an orphanage. And while Hop had grown up with all the luxuries an upper-middle class family could afford, he felt he understood why Bede once lashed out at the world.

Then the aftermath of the semi-finals match between Gloria and Bede changed everything. While Bede sulked over his defeat in the locker room, Hop walked over to offer him a warm smile and a warmer handshake. In the end, Bede gave him his trainer's card, something he only gave out to a select few trainers.

"I realized we have more in common than I thought," Hop said, and then stuck an open hand out towards Bede. Bede looked down at it, unsure. "Here, let's start over. Hello! I'm Hop from Postwick! It's nice to meet ya, mate!" Bede rolled his eyes but shook his hand with a small smile.

"It's nice to meet you too, Hop from Postwick. I'm Bede from Ballonlea. I hope we can be the chummiest of friends," he said, a little too deadpan. A moment passed, and then they burst into laughter. Bede couldn't remember the last time he shared a laugh with anyone.

Later on, when Hop finally drifted to sleep, the last thing he heard was the soft pattering of rain against his window.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No more spooky crying, for now.
> 
> I wasn't really satisfied with this one. I didn't want to make Hop's loneliness too heavy-handed so having him break down felt sorta awkward.
> 
> Let me know if anything felt off or needs to be changed!


	4. Hop in Wonderland

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hop celebrates his birthday and loved ones come to visit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For some reason, I HC Hop babbling or laughing when he gets nervous, probably because of his active, high-energy personality. He tends to beat himself up mentally here since he's had high expectations thrown on him and in his mind, nothing he does will ever be as good as Leon's accomplishments.

“Happy Birthday, Hop!”

If he opened his mouth any further, he’d start drooling over the caramel drizzled apple cake sitting in front of him.

“Wow, Lee, this looks amazing! _You_ made this?” asked Hop.

“Well, I had a little help from Raihan since baking’s not really my forte and you mentioned that he’s good at this kind of thing,” said Leon. Whether he blushed from the compliment or from the memory of baking with the Dragon-type gym leader, Hop didn’t know.

Just as he dug into his slice, he noticed Bede sitting off to the side in the living room, looking away from both them and the cake. He cut a small piece – his friend didn’t have as sweet a tooth as him and his brother – and sat down next to him on the couch.

“Here,” he offered. Bede took the plate and fork with a quiet thanks and chewed slowly, humming at the sugary sweetness. “What’s on your mind, mate?”

“Birthdays are pointless. We never really celebrated them,” he replied after swallowing a bite. That wasn’t entirely true; his parents made sure his early birthdays were filled with pleasant memories, but the orphanage he stayed at never acknowledged them. Birthdays there only served to remind him of what he used to have.

“What, seriously? Birthdays are the best! They bring people together and there’s always lots of good food and cakes! Grams celebrates ‘em at least, doesn’t she?”

Bede groaned.

“Don’t remind me, please. Ms. Opal and the ladies threw me a surprise birthday tea party last year…and they had me dress up for the part too.” That frilly, white neck napkin they made him wear, similar to the one that Leon wore with his Chairman attire, made him terribly itchy. And then they had fawned over him during the entire party, saying he looked “prim” and “proper”.

Still, he’d never trade that for the quiet nights in the orphanage where he sang ‘Happy Birthday’ to himself. He would take that confession to his grave.

“It couldn’t have been all that bad, yeah?” Hop grinned. “D’ya think there’ll be an extra seat for me for your next surprise birthday tea party?” At Bede’s deadpan look, he amended, “if you don’t mind me bein’ there, that is.”

“Do what you want. They’ll be happy to have another guest,” Bede sniffed and started to turn his head away, only to stop and cast Hop a hesitant side-glance. In lieu of a drinking glass, he tipped his plate instead. “…Happy Birthday, Hop.”

Raihan showed up first, giving his rival’s brother a tight squeeze that left him dizzy and out of breath. Like Sonia, his other mother, and everyone else who eventually visited, he took his time examining him, as if trying to determine whether the boy was an imposter or not.

“Damn, kid, it’s really you…” whispered Raihan, “Lee filled me in on the details, but still…”

His other mother had broken down at the sight of her younger son and Hop found himself yet again hugging and awkwardly patting someone else’s back.

“I’m sorry I worried you, mum.”

He addressed their questions, including where he originally came from, and that yes, he wasn’t really their Hop. When Nessa asked him _why_ he ended up in their world, he became a bit tight-lipped, but thankfully, they had enough grace to let it go.

Then came the big question:

“You’re staying here, right?”

The room hushed as every occupant awaited his answer. He hesitated, but this time for a different reason.

On the eve of their arrival, he assumed they would only stay at his other brother’s house for a day or two to recuperate. Then, he and Bede would set out to find the missing Impidimp and head home afterwards.

Now, he wasn’t so sure if he wanted to go back. He would miss Gloria and Victor, already missed them dearly, but he knew he had no place among them now that they had their own lives and jobs.

“I…um, yeah, I want to stay.” He nodded, feeling surer of himself when bright smiles and cheers responded to him. His other brother, who had the brightest smile and loudest cheer of them all, gave him a great big bear hug.

Only Bede frowned and remained quiet, his eyebrows furrowed.

* * *

“Psst, Rai! Over here!”

Hop poked his head out and waved to him from his hiding spot around the hallway corner. Having just finished recounting the misadventures his Duraludon and Goomy got into one day to a laughing Milo and Nessa, Raihan happened to look to the side and see him trying to get his attention.

He excused himself from the group and slunk unnoticed around the corner where Hop waited.

“What’s up, kid?” He and others downed a few drinks throughout the evening, but his mind remained lucid enough to notice that the boy fidgeted and kept looking out to see if anyone had noticed them missing, so he kept his voice low.

“You’re the Champion here, right?” He almost slapped himself for asking a question that he knew and that Raihan knew he knew the answer to. The former gym leader humored him anyway and nodded. “How’d you beat Lee? No offence, but you’ve been trying for so long that, well, everyone kinda expects you to lose now.” He looked sheepish when Raihan shot him a mild glare.

“Thanks for the honesty,” he grumbled, “anyway, no, I didn’t win against Lee in a climatic showdown with millions of people watching like I wanted to. He stepped down voluntarily and asked that I take his spot.” Despite trying to pass it off nonchalantly, he couldn’t stop a bitterness from creeping into his tone.

“Lee… _resigned_ from his Champion title? But…but I thought he liked being the Champion and Glo never took the title, so why would he give it all up?” His mind reeled. Aside from Leon’s old mentor, Mustard, no one else had stepped down from the position in recent years.

Raihan sighed and his posture slouched. He sounded subdued, tired.

“Kid, your brother hasn’t been himself for a long time, or at least until you showed up. He cut off contact from most of us and whenever we’d try and call or visit him, he’d give us a cold shoulder. Then one day, he calls and tells me that you’re back and then he acts like nothing happened. He even asked me to help bake your birthday cake!” He then added more quietly, “Dunno how he knew I like to bake…”

Something clicked in Hop.

“Is…is this because I ran away?” he asked, looking downward. Was he the reason why Leon and Raihan never got together in this world and why Leon distanced himself from everyone?

“Wait, hold on.” Raihan raised a hand up with an incredulous expression. “ _Ran away?_ Where’d you get that idea from? Is that what Lee’s bee-”

“I’ve been what?” A third voice jumped in, cutting off Raihan and causing both of their heads to turn. Leon, having managed to slip away unnoticed too, stood in the hallway near them. Having no indication he heard anything they said, he was all smiles and tilted head.

“Nothin’, just telling the kid how happy you’ve been lately,” said Raihan. He shrugged and shoved his hands in the pockets of his dragon hoodie. Leon nodded, satisfied, though his gaze lingered on his old rival a little too long for comfort.

Hop faced his other br- no, his brother, and ran forward to give him a hug. He could get used to this.

“Thanks for remembering my birthday this year, Lee,” he said. It took him a second to realize how that sounded and by then, he felt Leon’s shoulders and arms tense. He heard Raihan wince, somehow.

“I- _he_ forgot?” Leon’s voice stayed calm, yet he spat out the word like it was some sort of poison. “How long has this gone on?”

“It-it was only last year, Lee. He was busy doing a charity event and later apologized and said he’d make it up to me this year,” Hop said, his voice cowed. His brother seldom grew angry, and in this instance, he felt like a small child even if that anger wasn’t directed at him.

“It’s okay, Hop, you don’t need to make an excuse for _him_. I won’t ever forget your birthday, you know that, right?” he asked gently, and that belied the way his face twisted into a dark glower and lip-curling snarl. Raihan felt a chill run down his spine.

“Yeah, I know.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> On a completely unrelated note, I HC both Leons having the best hugs, like, you could stay forever in them. I imagine he used to hug Hop a lot more when they were younger and before he became Champion. Then Hop grew up and he thought his little brother thought he was too old for hugs. (but Leon tries to sneak em in anyway)
> 
> Anyway, thanks for reading!


	5. Brother Knows Best

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hop and Bede attempt to look for the Impidimp duo again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> After this chapter, things are gonna get creepy. Or at least attempted creepiness, creepy's not really my forte.

Hop pulled his blue fur-lined jacket over the thick cotton shirt he wore and made sure his Dubwool’s Pokéball was nestled securely in his shoulder bag. He wished he had brought the rest of his team over.

“Are you ready?” Bede asked, sticking his head in the bedroom doorway.

“Yeah, just a sec.” Hop checked one last time to see if he had everything he needed and ran out to meet Bede by the front door.

He looked around for his brother. Leon would disappear at intervals throughout the day, only to show up again like nothing happened. Hop merely assumed that he, ever the workaholic, found time to work at home while he took care of him. Perhaps he had gotten permission from the League?

“Hang on, lemme shoot Lee a quick text.” Hop pulled out his Rotom phone, typed, _‘b back soon, lee. gonna go to the glimwood’_ , and pressed ‘Send’. He nodded. “Okay, let’s go.”

On the Corviknight taxi ride there, Hop looked out the window while Bede shifted in his seat and pretended to be interested in a flock of Rookidee that flew by.

“Did you really meant what you said about staying here?” he asked after ten minutes of silence. Hop turned to him with the bewildered expression of someone who had been rudely interrupted from their thoughts.

“Yeah, I do want to stay. But I want to help you find Hans and Gren too, y’know, for Prim and Aster. After we return them, will you…?” He left the question hanging in the air between them, and it suffocated Bede as he mulled over the question.

“I’ve always wondered what happened to myself in this world,” the white haired boy began slowly, “so I asked around last night, to see if anyone knew my other self.” His face became a stone mask, and behind it, barely concealed despair. “They all vaguely remembered me as that challenger whom the former Chairman disowned, and that’s it.”

He turned blank, fragile eyes to Hop.

“No one in this world knows me, Hop. Ms. Opal, your brother, the gym leaders…no one. Here, I’m just some kid that flunked the challenge and flew off the radar.”

“Hey, that's not true. I’m sure the other me knew the other you and became friends just like we did,” said Hop.

They felt the passenger cabin they were in descending towards the thick copse of trees below. From the back of his Corviknight, the cabbie yelled to them over the howling gales.

“Last stop: Ballonlea!”

“We can talk about it later. Let’s find Hans and Gren first, alright?”

Bede wordlessly nodded and followed him out after they landed in town and Hop had tipped the cabbie. The cozy, secluded little hamlet was as tranquil as ever, yet now Bede felt like a stranger in his own home. People with familiar faces passed him by without a wave or a greeting like they usually did.

‘The Impidimp. Focus on them,’ he thought. He rubbed his eyes and cleared his mind except for his goal.

“Okay, where should we start? D’ya think they’re staying at the twins’ house for now or did they get lost in the woods? Or maybe they’ve found their way home by now?”

“No, I’ve known those two for some time and while their species like to play pranks, they wouldn’t leave the people and Pokémon they like behind. They’re either lost or ran into trouble.” He’d prefer it if he didn’t have to go back to the twins’ mother of this world.

They started to comb the woods for the missing Pokémon and for every pair of Impidimp they saw, they checked to see if they had Hans’ scarred cheek or Grendal’s nicked ear. Along the way, they defended themselves from the occasional Shiinotic or Morgrem and stopped to heal up their Pokémon.

Shortly after noon, they sat on an old, sturdy log and had lunch – two roast beef and cheese sandwiches, salted crackers, and cold water to wash it down. Hop gave the last bites of his sandwich to a Phantump lured by the smell of food.

Just as they started to put away empty containers and half-empty water flasks, they heard a shout directed towards them followed by Charizard’s bellow.

“Hop!”

Leon dismounted before the flying lizard made the complete descent and landed on the ground in a crouch, the ends of his tailcoat flapping behind him. Hop raised his hand to greet him, but faltered when he noticed one thing.

His brother looked absolutely _livid_. And this time, that anger was directed at him. He shrank away as Leon stormed up to them.

“What are you doing here?” he demanded, crossing well-built arms disguised in fine, rich red clothing.

“W-What’re you talking about, Lee? I texted you earlier and-”

“Don’t you know how dangerous the forest is? Children who die while lost here are turned into Phantump!”

Hop thought back to the little tree-stump Pokémon he shared his meal with, and the way it had approached them with bright, innocent curiosity in its glowing eyes.

“But Lee, I’m not a child anymore! And the other you never had a problem with it before!”

“The _other_ me never cared about you then. What if you ran out of food and got lost? Or ran into a strong wild Pokémon? What if your phone died or lost connection out here?” With every question, he inched closer.

Bede quickly stepped in-between the two of them.

“Wait, sir! This isn’t Hop’s fault, it’s mine.”

In diverting the blame off his friend, he received the brunt of Leon’s death glare instead. Bede stood firm, even as he gulped audibly and sweat started to gather on his forehead.

‘He’s not that scary,’ he chanted to himself, ‘remember your training. Straighten your back, arms to the side, meet their gaze evenly. He’s not as scary as Ms. Opal.’ Nobody was as scary as Opal when she got angry.

“Sir, I’ve been looking for some missing Pokémon and I asked Hop to help me. They’re very special to my friends back home,” Bede added before Leon could throw an accusation his way. Hop nodded vigorously, regaining some of his confidence.

“It’s true, Lee! That’s how we ended up here in the first place, looking for those Impidimp. I just wanted to help Bede find them…” Hop looked downward, his fingers twiddling together, and his older brother’s glare melted under the sad sight.

“C’mere, Hopscotch, you know I can’t stay mad at you for long.” The boy reciprocated the hug. Always a dutiful brother, even with shame burning his face and his tail between his legs. Ever perceptive, Leon noticed the way Hop clung to him as if he was touch-starved. Had his _other_ self been ignoring him? Whoever or whatever guided this Hop to him had blessed him with a second chance, and he wasn’t going to squander it this time.

“I’m sorry for yelling at you, little bro. You know I was just worried about you, right?” he asked, his tone soothing and low. He felt Hop nod wordlessly against his chest. “You know only I have your best interests in mind, right?” Another nod.

Leon crouched to place both hands on Hop’s shoulders gravely.

“Then promise you’ll never come here again without me knowing, alright? The world’s a dangerous place, Hop.”

Hop bit his lower lip but nodded once more.

“Promise, Lee.”

“Hey, that’s not fai-” Bede started. A look from Leon quieted him into a sullen glare.

“Enough. We’re going home. I understand you want to find the missing Impidimp so I’ll send a search party out later. Leave it to us adults to sort things out.”

Bede defiantly lingered behind at first, his intensifying glare trying to burn through Leon, but he eventually gave up and followed them back to Charizard, who greeted them with a fond growl.

* * *

He stomped down the hallway leading to Hop’s room, hands balled up into fists. Had the carpet been anything but soft fur, he would’ve made a ruckus with the way he was walking.

The hairs on the back of his neck stood up when he felt eyes peering at him from the dark, but a quick scan around revealed nothing out of the ordinary.

The bedroom door was slightly ajar and light from the nightstand spilled out from the crack. He pushed the door open to find Hop reading a comic book with a kid and a giant, round white robot standing next to him on the front cover. Though he looked intently at the pages, his eyes glazed over and his mind was elsewhere.

“We’re leaving.”

Hop startled so badly the comic book flew out of his hands and onto the bedside next to him and he bonked his head on the arching lamp head.

“Wha-? Bloody hell, Bede, how about a warning next time?” He rubbed at the sore spot.

Bede ignored the complaint and grabbed his hand, pulling him out of the bed.

“Pack your things.” Hop squirmed and shook himself out of the other boy’s iron grip and covered his arm where a finger imprint had made its mark.

“What’s going on? Where’re we going?” he asked.

“Home. Away from here, anywhere but here.” Bede cursed his own bluntness when he saw his friend retreat into himself, his expression clouding over in guarded wariness.

“But this is my home now. I…I don’t want to go back.”

“No, your home is with your real brother and friends, not with this overbearing copy. I’ve got a bad feeling about him.” Bede glared down on him with the same half-lidded eyes and condescending frown that he used to give him when he used to beat down Hop’s Pokémon. It was a familiar stance, one he thought he had ditched completely.

“Whaddya know? You never had a proper family ‘n you never second-guessed Chairman Rose so don’t tell me who’s family and who’s not!” Hop bit back. The same old antagonism bubbled forth and it was Stow-on-Side all over again. Bede bristled at the retort.

“Rose was like a father to me. Not that you’d know what it’s like, considering that yours left.” He wasn’t the only one who had rumors circulating about his past.

“Fuck off!”

While Hop’s voice never raised above an intense whisper, his face compensated by twisting into an unusual, sudden fury that surprised even Bede. He shoved the gym leader into the dresser, causing it to rattle. He hoped he hadn’t woken Leon up, but his room across the hallway remained silent.

“Go back on your own. I’m happy here,” Hop said, turning around so the other wouldn’t see the tears pooling at his eyelids.

“Fine. You’ll be just like everyone else who’s come and gone from my life. I’ll be sure to tell Gloria and Victor you’re thinking of them,” Bede sneered and scrubbed at his eyes before leaving in a hurry.

Hop stood alone in the middle of his bedroom, desperately trying not to cry, and failing.

When he came down for breakfast the next morning, Bede was already gone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oops, I turned Leon into Mother Gothel lol
> 
> Hop doesn't seem like the type of character to get angered easily, but push those buttons just right and he goes into Angry Mode. Same with Leon, I think.
> 
> I wrote Bede to be distrusting of Mirror!Leon because of his past experience with an authority figure. Hop doesn't have that same experience.


	6. The Witch's Cage

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hop finds where Bede and the Impidimp duo have been.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HC: Hop can understand and calm down Pokémon pretty well but not as well as N from Black and White. He knows what Pokémon are feeling and generally saying even if he can't actually understand the language.
> 
> Three guesses on who the witch in the title is referring to.

“You have to try these scones Raihan made yesterday, little bro. They’re delicious!” Leon waved him over to the kitchen table. Hop seated himself and nibbled on a flaky blueberry-filled scone.

It was good, just as all of Raihan’s cooking was, yet the taste never quite registered in his sleep-addled and numb mind.

“Did he leave?” he asked quietly.

“He makes the best waffles too. Seriously, how’d you know he was such a good cook?” Leon continued.

“Where’s Bede, Lee?” He tried again, louder this time.

With a sigh, Leon set down the scone on his plate and neatly folded his hands.

“He left before I woke up. The guest bedroom was completely clean and empty,” he replied, dropping the smile. Hop set down his scone as well and started to sniffle.

“Am I a bad friend? I wanted him to stay b-but he didn’t want to an’ then we got into a row…” He shuddered a deep, wet breath and hiccupped. From across the table, Leon leaned over to place a hand on his shoulder

“No, no, of course not, Hop. Any friend who makes you cry isn’t a good friend at all. Brothers too, for that matter. Forget about them.” He then patted the shoulder with a softer smile. “How about we break out the Switch and play a game? You know, for old times’ sake?”

“…’kay.”

They took out the dusty video game console and booted up a fighting game, one of Hop’s favorites. He asked whether Raihan and Piers were going to join in like they normally did on game night, but Leon dodged the question and told him to pick a fighter.

He liked playing against his brother, though he missed when the four of them would gather around taunting and distracting each other in order to win. He wondered why his brother hadn’t invited them over.

* * *

He thought he heard Gloria’s voice – a strong, warm, kind Scottish accent – and rushed into the living room only to realize it had come from a movie playing on the TV.

* * *

“Can I go visit Rai? He should be done with his Champion stuff by now, yeah?” Hop bounced on the couch and tapped his foot endlessly.

Leon shot him an apologetic look and shook his head.

“Sorry, Hop, Raihan had to go to a meeting after the photo shoot and meet and greet. He’ll be busy the rest of the day.”

Hop groaned and flopped into the cushions face-first.

* * *

He lay in bed that night, wide awake even as the crescent moon hung high in the starlit sky. Sighing, he rolled away from the window and pulled the blanket over him, clothes and bedsheet rustling as he did so. Nothing he did helped lull him into slumber, not sleeping pills, counting Wooloo, reading, or relaxation music.

His thoughts kept drifting back to Bede, who had surely by now found the lost Impidimp, taken them home to Primrose and Aster, and told Leon about his little brother’s happy new home far, far away. And Leon would soon forget about him and enjoy the rest of his life with Raihan.

Or so he told himself so the dull ache of missing his original brother went away.

Hop only wished he could’ve parted on better terms with Bede. That sudden flash of hot anger from the fight had long since washed away into cold, bitter regret.

So caught in his little imaginings, he didn’t notice it at first.

Something below him thumped lightly and irregularly against a wall – slow, then loud and fast, then back to slow again. It paused for minutes at a time, before resuming in a different pattern.

Eyes wide and straining to see in the dark, he slipped out of bed and prowled around for the source of the noise. The thumping seemed to be loudest next to the window and his dresser.

He hadn’t been imagining or dreaming about the crying then. But since when did his brother’s house have a basement?

Chattering followed by leaves rustling outside his window made his muscles tense. He edged towards it and slowly reached for the latch to push it open. The panes moved outward, letting a pleasant late-night spring breeze and the sounds of nocturnal Pokémon to drift in. Hop stood still by the window, expecting something to jump into the room.

Nothing happened.

He craned his head and neck out to scan the side of the house. The only living being he noticed was a Metapod slumbering on a tree branch high above. Letting out a silent breath of air he didn’t know he was holding, he retreated back into his room.

He blinked and a face with beady pupils, pointed ears, and a wide fanged grin filled his vision.

Hop tumbled onto his rear with a curse and scooted away with one hand slapped over his mouth. The face broke into a low-pitched, grating noise that sounded similar to chuckling and beckoned at something hiding in the foliage. Another Pokémon like it crawled out of the bush nearest to the window and joined its companion.

“What the hell was that for?” hissed Hop when he found his voice again after it dislodged from his throat. “What’re Impidimp doing in Wyndon any…way…”

He trailed off when he saw that the one that scared him had a nicked left ear. The second one had a jagged scar on its right cheek.

“Wait a sec, Grendel?” The little imp waved at him. “And you’re…Hans, right?” The other little imp mock bowed in greeting. “We’ve been looking all over for you both! Where’ve you been? Bede ‘n the twins are worried sick about you!” Remembering that his brother was sleeping, he kept his words to barely above a whisper.

Hans scratched his nearly bald head with a sheepish grin while Grendel babbled and told a story with exaggerated gestures.

“You…finally found each other only to…run into a strong Pokémon? And then you escaped and…picked up our trails yesterday so…then you followed us here?” Hop asked. Grendel nodded eagerly. The boy’s shoulders slumped.

“Well, Bede’s not here anymore. He left this morning to find you two and go home…” The Impidimp exchanged glances and chattered. Hans shrugged. “What’d you mean he hasn’t left? That’s not possible.”

They took that as an invitation to jump into his bedroom and begin sniffing around. The light thumping resumed and their pointed ears perked at the noise. Leaving them to it, Hop shivered lightly when the night air grew colder and turned around to close the window.

A tall shadow with icy blue eyes stared down at him.

Before he could scream, a hand shot out to clamp over his mouth.

“Shhh, it’s just me, kid. Don’t worry,” the figure said, familiar and gentle. It had to crouch to step inside and up closer, Hop saw Raihan’s telltale orange bandana and dragon hoodie. His thundering heartbeat began to slow.

“Rai! Don’t scare me like that!” Hop pouted. “How’d you make time to come here? I thought you were busy with the meeting all day.”

“Busy? Nah, I’ve been free since the photo shoot earlier. Lee said you weren’t feeling well so I brought you some soup and…” He checked him over to confirm that, indeed, the boy was healthy minus the fright-induced sweat and paleness.

A brief, uneasy silence hung between them as they traded raised eyebrows and puzzled looks. Raihan changed the subject by gesturing towards the Impidimp duo with a half-nod.

“They friends of yours?”

“Bede’s, mostly. We’ve been looking for them for some children in Ballonlea and – oh, Gren’s found something!”

Grendel waved to them at the bedroom door while Hans scampered out, still sniffing as he went. They crept out into the hallway to find Grendel pawing at a piece of wall in between the bathroom, Hop’s room, and the guest room.

The imp’s three-fingered hand pushed against the rich red and gold rose wallpaper, and with a soft creak, a panel opened up big enough to fit a grown man inside. Within, the same thumping grew louder.

“…Hop, stay behind me. I’m going in first,” whispered Raihan. Hop merely nodded, not trusting himself to croak a reply. The Champion crawled in first on his hands and knees followed by Hop and the Impidimp duo. Light dust coated the floor, staining their elbows and clothing.

The passageway that started out narrow widened enough so most of them, sans Raihan, could stand at full height. A set of worn, wooden stairs winded down below them and at the bottom, a faint light was all there was to guide them in the dark.

“Careful, kid.” Hop grabbed onto the man’s puffy black sleeve as they descended. With every step, the thumping grew louder still and increased in intensity as though it heard their approach. Hop’s grip tightened.

Once they reached the bottom step, they turned a corridor into a sparsely lit room and Hop's knees nearly gave out from under him.

Bede and Hop’s counterpart sat, bound, chained, and gagged.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, thanks for reading and any criticism, feedback, or thoughts are appreciated!


	7. Escape From Wonderland

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hop, Bede, and the others try to escape from the mirror world.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Am I doing this creepy thing right? I hope I'm doin' it right.

Bede rolled and twisted in the restraints holding his arms and legs together while the gag in his mouth muffled his shouts. Teary and fear-stricken eyes landed on them and that seemed to break the stunned spell holding them still. Grendel and Hans were the first to bound over, fretting and picking at the restraints.

“Shit, shit, shit,” muttered Hop as he practically flew over to his side and began undoing the straps while Raihan kept repeating “bloody fuck” over and over to himself. Once the gag and the tape holding it in was removed, the white-haired teenager alternated between crying and hissing in pain.

“Ow, ow! D-Don’t touch my shoulder…” No blood stained his clothes, though Hop imagined there to be an ugly purple welt on his flesh from constantly slamming it into the wall. Grendel wrapped a skinny fuchsia arm around him and amid the aching of his joints and the wetness on his face, Bede cracked a small smile. “You’ve found Hans. I’m sure Primrose and Aster will be delighted to know you two are well.”

In the corner, where the dim light fell just out of reach, the other Hop’s body twitched.

“I should’ve listened ‘n left with you and – Arceus, I’m so, so sorry, how could he… _why_ would Lee d-do this? I’m so, so-” Hop’s babbling cut off when Bede’s held up his good hand and sighed.

“Stop it. You had every right to trust him. Hearing you defend him just…reminded me of the trust I placed in Chairman Rose and,” he averted his gaze and finished lamely in a very small voice, “I suppose I shouldn’t have been so hard on you…”

“Hate to interrupt your make-up session, but that doesn’t explain why the fuck Lee tied you up,” said Raihan as he undid the last of the restraints, earning him a quiet “thanks”. Bede shook out the numbness that had settled in his limbs but left his injured shoulder alone.

“He overheard us fighting last night and, after knocking me out on the way back to my room, dragged me all the way down here.” He didn’t remember everything that Leon said to him when he came to, his limbs bound and his mouth gagged, but one line registered in his foggy and panicked mind.

_“You’ll never hurt Hop again.”_

“Your other self was already here when I woke up.” Bede turned to the slumped figure, who moaned through the gag in his own mouth.

“No, that’s impossible…” Raihan mumbled so softly they almost missed what he said, “That can’t be him. He’s…” He knelt beside the other Hop’s body and gingerly removed the mouth gag before moving on to the rest of the bindings.

Grendel padded up and sniffed the stirring child. A noise that sounded like a gasp left his fanged mouth. He called to Hans, who repeated the same motion and looked just as surprised as his partner-in-crime.

Hop peered closer. Was it him, or was his other self’s body far too small and emaciated for his age? The blue fur-lined jacket encompassed him as a blanket would and in spots where short purple hair would be, curly brown hair filled in instead.

Then his eyes fluttered open, and one was a rich, honey-swirled gold while the other was a striking warm blue. A single contact lens lay on the concrete ground next to him.

Fat tears welled up, culminating in streams that ran down his pallid cheeks and broken sobs that tumbled from chapped lips. The crying had the same pitch and sound as the one Hop heard the first night.

“’m sorry, ‘m sorry, I’ll be better, Mr. Le- Lee, I’ll be a good brother,” Not-Hop said in a raspy rush, “don’t wanna be down here ‘nymore…” The younger boy’s voice niggled at Hop’s memory – as croaky and disused as it was, he distantly remembered hearing it once.

He didn’t have to wonder much longer for Bede scrambled close to Not-Hop and grabbed him with his good hand, causing him to flinch, shut his eyes, and cry harder.

“No, no way…is that you, A-Aster?”

His sobbing muted for a moment and he chanced a glance at the stranger invading his space only to see him on the verge of tears himself, not angry at all.

“…How do you know my name, mister?” he asked meekly. Bede’s breathing hitched and he let go to rub at his damp eyes with a dirty sleeve.

“I’m Bede, a friend of your mum’s. When I asked for you and Primrose, she told me you both had died a couple of months ago.”

“Sis…sis is…” The crying resumed. Grendel reached out to wipe a tear away while Hans patted Aster’s shoulder. “Mum got too sick and couldn’t keep up with the treatments ‘n feed us, so she had Dad t-take us out into the Glimwood. He left Prim and I deep into the woods and we wandered for days. Soon, Prim j-just stopped…movin’.” His lips trembled and he buried his face in his hands.

“Mr. Le- Lee found me at the edge of the Glimwood ‘n he took me in, fed me, and treated me like a little brother…wanted me to be his little brother…” A violent shiver ran through Hop. “I’m so hungry…he told me I-I eat too much and that I needed to be skinny like you, mister.” He cast doleful, multi-colored eyes at his “counterpart”.

Raihan took out a container from his hoodie pocket and passed it over to Aster.

“Here, kiddo, have some soup. It’s still warm.” Aster tore the lid off and shoveled spoonfuls of the creamy broth mixed with noodles, moist chicken, and vegetables so fast they thought he would choke. A stray, salty tear dripped into the bowl.

“T-Thank you, m-mister,” Aster said between gulps. While he ate and Bede encouraged him to slow down, Hop scooted closer to his brother’s rival.

“I don’t understand it, Rai. Why would he…why would Lee do this? What happened to the other me?” Raihan breathed a long, deep sigh and scratched at his tied-up black hair under the bandana.

“The other you died during the second Darkest Day. Same with you,” he paused, acknowledging Bede, “it came back to me when I remembered seeing you at the Opening Ceremony. When the former Chairman set the Darkest Day in motion, you two plus Lee showed up to stop Eternatus. You,” he paused again to acknowledge Hop, “and Zacian managed to take the hellbeast down, but at the cost of your life.”

Bede stayed calm. Now at least he had some closure on his missing counterpart’s whereabouts.

“Like I said earlier, Lee changed. He became colder, distant. We all learned to not mention that day or you in any form around him. Don’t think I’ve ever seen him so furious than when Gordie offered his condolences. I should’ve tried harder, should’ve reached out to him more, maybe then he wouldn’t have done any of this!” He balled his hands into tight fists, his shoulders slouched, his teeth grounded together, and Hop realized that his other brother’s rival felt just as conflicted and horrified as he was.

Raihan shook his head and steeled his gaze, all conflict and remorse vanishing.

“All finished, kiddo?” he asked. Aster set down the empty container and nodded. “Good. I’m getting you all the hell outta here. Hop, you said you and your friend stumbled into this world through some portal, right? Where is it?”

“Deep within Glimwood Tangle. Bede and I were looking for the Impidimp and came across this hollowed out log which led out into a path with an invisible portal. I’m not sure I remember which way it was to the log though.”

“That’s a good a start as any. C’mere, kiddo, easy steps.” He held Aster steady as he rose to his feet. “Once we get out of this dungeon, I’ll let you ride my back. Let’s go before Sleeping Beauty awakes.”

They treaded up the stairs with light, slow steps. When the passage leading out grew narrower, Bede had to turn onto his non-injured side and slide along carefully enough so he wouldn’t jostle his shoulder. The panel in the hallway Grendel opened remained as it was. Once they were out, Raihan let Aster climb onto his back.

“Wait, I can’t leave without Hatty,” Bede whispered, “her Pokéball was the only thing I brought with me.” Hans nodded and scampered off into the guest room.

“I’ll be right back. Gonna grab my things too.” Hop crept into his bedroom, quickly changed into his normal clothes, grabbed his shoulder bag with his Dubwool in it, and tiptoed out into the hallway. By then, Hans had found Hatterene’s customized Fairy-type Pokéball and returned it to its rightful trainer.

They continued down the hallway and through the living room. The hairs on the back of Bede’s neck stood up and goosebumps appeared on his skin.

Just as Raihan grabbed the front door handle, a baritone voice tsked lowly and its owner tapped the wood floor with a foot.

“I thought I heard mice scurrying below.” Leon’s arms were crossed, his face set in a tight scowl, and he was dressed in his Chairman’s attire, almost as if he… “And it turns out that they’re stealing my little brother away.” Aster made a strangled noise in the back of his throat.

Raihan flung the door open and pushed them out. He unclipped a Pokéball from his belt and chucked it out onto the front lawn. From the resounding pop and flash, his Flygon hovered above ground.

“Go! You lot, on Ace! Now!” They followed his orders without hesitation and dashed towards the waiting Pokémon. Hop and Hans helped a struggling Bede up while Grendel perched on top of Ace’s horned green head. Raihan, with Aster still on top, went last and swung on board. He hoisted the boy off of his shoulders and onto the space in front of him.

“Ace, Fly to Ballonlea as fast as you can!” He patted the dragon’s long neck. Ace trilled in response and shot off into the sky like a rocket.

As they flew out of view, they saw Leon send one last glare up at them and call out Charizard. At the halfway point, he slowly closed the distance between them. A blistering stream of fire from Charizard’s mouth tickled Ace’s short hind legs and caused Bede to cover his face from the heat.

“Shit, that overgrown lizard of his is faster than its kind ought to be,” muttered Raihan, swerving his head to observe while keeping a hand on his wind-whipped bandana. He could see Leon shouting at him, could see his lips moving, whatever he was shouting however became lost to the gales. Charizard reared its right arm and its talons grew a bright silver.

Bede dug out Hatterene’s Pokéball from his coat pocket and clicked on the release button. Hatty emerged and materialized next to him. Her trainer pointed to the pursuers and instantly, she sensed the purple-haired man’s intense hostility.

“Hatty, use Psychic!”

The ends of her long hat hand glowed a pink hue which extended to Leon’s body. With a flick of the hand, he careened off of Charizard and plummeted, cursing them all the way. Before his trainer could complete a swift and messy descent, the flying lizard halted midair and swooped down after him.

“Asshole,” Bede spat. Hatty giggled.

“Good one, kid!” Raihan called back. “That’ll buy us some time.” At the far edge of the starlit horizon, they could see the tips of the Glimwood’s trees sticking out.

“I’ve never met such friendly Impidimp before,” Aster laughed as the imps crowded around him and made funny, exaggerated faces. “Do they have names?”

“Yes, this one’s Grendel. See his nicked ear here? A Morgrem took part of it off. And this one’s Hans, he received a nasty scar from an Indeedee once. The children back home say they’re brothers.” Hans went from mimicking a Lickilicky’s face to using his fairy magic to create a mini illusion show.

“Is that where we’re going? Y-Your home, I mean?”

“Yes, well, it’s your home too, Aster.” The younger boy tilted his head. “This might sound strange, but we’re heading to a different Ballonlea where things are mostly the same and you’ll recognize people though they won’t recognize you.” It’d not even been a week and yet Bede felt he hadn’t been home in a year. He hoped his mentor hadn’t spent that time feeling guilty over his disappearance.

Aster shrugged and watched an illusory knight riding a Galarian Rapidash confront a massive Hydreigon look-alike.

“That’s okay. Anywhere’s better than Mr. Leon- um, Lee’s house.”

“You don’t have to call him Lee. He’s not your brother,” Bede gently reminded him. Aster nodded but didn’t say anything else.

Ballonlea’s gym leader left the boy to his show and shifted to glance at Hop, who had remained in a subdued daze for nearly the entire trip. He shook himself out of it when he felt a pair of eyes on him.

“Your shoulder…” he started.

“It’s fine. I’ll get it checked out later.” What had been searing, throbbing pain dulled since then, although he didn’t dare test his injured joint out yet. What was more pressing was that his friend never looked so hopeless before, not even after losing in the semifinals, and he didn’t quite know how to comfort him. “Stop worrying so much. Once we cross the portal, we’ll find your real brother and everyone else. Surely he’s been looking for you all this time.”

He mentally berated himself for his abrasiveness.

“What if…what if Lee’s really mad at me? And-and what if he turns into…into…” Hop shivered.

“He won’t. Your brother’s probably more worried than angry at the moment. And even though they’re both Leon, they’re also two different people shaped by different experiences. As long as he has you, he won’t become like that other Leon. You’re his dear little brother, after all.” Hop smiled at that and Bede mentally congratulated himself for salvaging that conversation.

“That’s the nicest thing you’ve said, mate.”

“Don’t get used to it."

Ace soared past the dense canopy of trees and descended into the sleepy hamlet. After they disembarked, Raihan called his Flygon back and ushered them into the woods. In the distance, they heard Charizard’s roars.

‘Remember what Bede taught you,’ Hop thought while they slunk through the undergrowth and stepped over protruding roots. He kept his eyes on the ground and avoided fallen leaves and any other obstacles.

“I know you’re in there, Hopscotch!” The other Leon’s voice rang out somewhat singsongy throughout the previously silent woods, causing nocturnal and diurnal Pokémon alike to look around in confusion. “Big brother’s here to take you home!”

Aster whimpered and clung closer to Raihan, who hushed and patted the kid’s head.

The heavy beating of Charizard’s wings stilled for a moment and they heard Leon sigh loudly and dramatically.

“You’ve left me with no other choice! Blitz, be a chap and deal with these trees, why don’t you? _Flamethrower!_ ”

Raihan barely had time to yell for them to duck when a stream of flame shot from the sky and razed the area right in front of them. The stream continued on, moving haphazardly as it blackened trees to ash. Forest Pokémon of all types jumped from their burning homes and fled in droves. The Impidimp duo ran around in a shrieking panic.

All around them, Glimwood Tangle became an inferno.

“No, no, no! _Stop!_ ” Bede cried. He scooped up a Phantump and jumped away before a thick burning branch crushed it. Raihan grabbed him by the back of his jacket and hauled him away. “We’ve got to stop him! He’s going to burn everything down!” He struggled in the other’s grip, tears dripping down at seeing his home up in flames. The little tree stump Pokémon cowered and hid in his arms.

“Take everyone and find that portal, kid! Find your Leon and the other me, hopefully. Go! I’ll hold him off!” Raihan threw him and the Phantump towards the others and watched them run off. Hop gave him one last worried look, to which he responded by waving casually.

Raihan took out the Pokéball containing his Goodra and rolled it in his hand. Flames surrounded him, licking and playing dangerously close to his skin. He didn’t mind it. He preferred it to the bitter cold anyway.

The beat of wings and the sound of crunching footsteps made him look up. Amidst the vortex of fire, of crumbling plants and trees, Leon calmly strode up to him; to Raihan, his beautiful golden eyes were made even more ethereal by the light of the firestorm. His heart panged.

“So that whole incident with Rose was your doing, wasn't it? I trusted you, Lee- no, Leon,” he said, hating how his voice broke at the end.

_I loved you._

Leon closed his eyes for the briefest of moments, and when he opened them again, they had a wet, glassy sheen to it. His bottom lip trembled. Still, when he spoke, his voice never wavered.

“Move aside, Raihan. You know you can’t win this.”

“Yeah, yeah, I know. Why don’t you add another win to your streak, Champ?”

* * *

“Where’s that damn portal?”

For what felt like the past hour, they had been running around in search of the hollowed out log. At least this part of the woods remained intact.

A distant cry of a Pokémon fainting reached his ears, and while he couldn’t tell if it belonged to his other brother or Raihan, he had a feeling it was the latter’s.

Bede set the Phantump down and shooed it away softly.

“Go on, find some shelter for the night.” The ghostly creature started to flit away, stopped to give Bede a wave and a smile, and then vanished into the shadows.

“Look, misters! Gren’s found somethin’!” Aster called out to them. Grendel sniffed past some shrubbery and went out of sight, only to poke his head back out and beckon to them. Beyond the thick foliage, the log rested undisturbed below a high stone-bricked wall.

Bede went in first although he had to maneuver onto his good side to crawl through. Aster went in next, followed by the Impidimp duo and then Hop. On the other end of the log, a familiar dirt path flanked by twisted and gnarled trees laid beyond them.

“C’mon, we’re almost there!” Hop took Aster by the hand when the smaller child started to falter and tire out.

“He’s in there, Blitz?” came Leon’s muffled voice, followed by Charizard’s grunt.

Hop pushed his legs to keep moving, nearly carrying Aster as he did so. When he saw the two Impidimp and Bede disappear past a faintly glowing ripple, he took the boy into his arms and lunged forward…

And appeared back at the tunnel entrance. Like last time, a wave of disorientation and dizziness hit him. He couldn’t hear Leon or Charizard at all.

“Don’t just stand there. Let’s keep going!” Bede took them both by the hands and dragged them ahead.

Just as Hop started to see the fluorescent mushroom lights of Ballonlea, a pair of strong hands seized him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hatterene: (◕ᴗ◕✿)  
> Also Hatterene: (︢⓪ ᴗ ︢⓪✿)ꐦ Y E E T
> 
> Having Mirror!Hop die during the Second Darkest Day seems like an untwist now, it feels unoriginal lol
> 
> What happened to Mirror!Rose will be revealed later.
> 
> Some clarification on Mirror!Bede: He never met Opal in this world so he never became a famous Gym Leader. Events from the canon universe happen and he gets disowned and disqualified from the Gym Challenge. 
> 
> When Rose starts the Second Darkest Day, he wanted another chance to prove himself so he went to battle Eternatus, not knowing that special items and Pokémon are needed to defeat it. So since Gloria/Victor don't exist in this world and don't have the other half of the legendary duo, both Mirror!Bede and Mirror!Hop die in the conflict.
> 
> Mirror!Bede basically died friendless in this world.


	8. Battle of Kings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Two Leons meet and a conflict arises.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> a.k.a.: the one where two Leons bitch fight over their little brother and Raihan gets jealous
> 
> From now on, regular Leon will just be called Leon and Mirror!Leon will be Other Leon (or other brother, etc.)

Hop did the only thing his fatigued, terrified mind could think of in the moment: bite, scream, and kick at his assailant. He tried to reach down for his Dubwool’s Pokéball only to have his arms pinned.

“Hop! Oh, Arceus, it really is- ow!” An all too familiar baritone with a boisterous, youthful tone to it nearly shouted in his ears. “It’s just me, little bro! Stop- ow!”

He bit, screamed, and kicked harder.

“Leggo of him, you bad, bad man!” With what little strength he had left, Aster slammed his fists against his captor’s side. Two Impidimp climbed atop him – one yanked his long hair while the other attacked his hands.

“Hatty, Psychic!”

A pinkish glow surrounded Leon, making him levitate, and then propelled him into the nearest tree trunk. The impact of his back against the firm, oak wood knocked the air right out of him and he groaned as he slid down.

“What’s…w-why…?” He wheezed and craned his head up to see the new friend his brother told him all about glaring daggers at him. His Hatterene stood by him, brimming with the same pink-purple energy.

“Touch him again, and I’ll have Hatty rip you limb from limb,” Bede seethed at him, “and that’s for burning the Glimwood down, bastard!”

“Don’t let him take me away again, mister. I-I don’t wanna go back…” A frightened little boy who looked remarkably similar to his brother clung close to said brother. Hop put the boy behind him, as if he, Leon, was about to come over and snatch him up like in the old fairy tales.

Why did all of them, especially his dear little brother, look at him as some sort of monstrosity?

“W-Wait, I…Hop, I don’t u-understand! What did I do?” Leon tried to crawl away when Bede advanced on him but the two grinning Impidimp blocked his path.

“Hatty, Shadow Ba-”

“Hold on, Bede.” Hop held up a hand. His friend hesitated, but called off the attack. Hop knelt down a good distance away from Leon. The man had broken out in a cold sweat, his eyes were wide, and his pupils dilated. Hop didn’t doubt his brother could act, still…

What did his real brother have that the other didn’t? He drummed his fingers on his knees.

“Who are you seeing right now?” he asked slowly. Leon blinked, opened his mouth, and left it there.

“Huh? What kind of question is-”

“Just answer it, Lee!” Hop snapped. Leon blinked again and flinched. The younger of them only ever raised his voice like that during the few times they had a real fight.

“Raihan, of course,” he said.

At that, the tension seemed to evaporate. Bede sighed and recalled Hatterene back. Hop crumpled there and then and wept into his hands with shuddering, noisy sobs.

“I-It’s you, it’s really y-you, Lee!” Leon scrambled over and brought him into a gentle hug. “I’m sorry! I’m sorry I’ve b-been gone so long! I thought you wouldn’t look for me at all…” Hop’s words were thick with snot and tears.

“Wouldn’t look for you? That’s all we’ve been doing this week!” Leon held him back to look at him directly. Hop saw how several days of endless searching in the woods created deep shadows under his brother’s eyes. Even his hair stuck out more than usual. “I thought you…you ran away or got hurt or…became one of those Phantump.” Leon’s voice hitched and cracked at the end. He couldn’t recall how many times he stumbled upon a wandering Phantump in the woods and dreaded the possibility that his brother was one of them.

“I didn’t run away.” _At first_ , he added as an afterthought to himself. “Anyway, Bede’s hurt! He hurt his shoulder trying to escape!”

“I can wait.” Bede shrugged and turned away. Reunions still made him feel awkward and out of place. Aster stood tiptoed to whisper something to him and he nodded. “Yes, he’s not the one who kidnapped you, Aster. He’s our Leon.”

Leon started to ask what he meant by that when Hop brought a finger to his lips to hush them.

It started as a low hum, and then gradually grew into soft singing. With the woods in a near silent state at this time of night, they could hear every last word.

The melody came from the left of Hop and then the right, and then behind him until he wasn’t sure where it was coming from. It bounced off the trees, coming from nowhere and yet everywhere.

_“Little mice, little mice,_

_watch how they scurry_

_watch how the palace cat_

_chases them in a hurry._

_One gets caught_

_in its soft, furry paws_

_the other gets snatched_

_in the tower raven’s claws._

_Little mice, little mice,_

_watch how they scurry.”_

The upbeat tempo and bouncy rhythm brought back distant memories of their younger selves and sleepless nights, where his baby brother would use his tiny hands to mimic tiny mice scurrying across the bed and he would curve his own hands into claws and pounce on them. Hop would burst into peals of giggles and fall over, pretending to be caught.

Going further back, Leon remembered him and their mum playing that same game where after “pouncing” on his mice-shaped hand, she would tickle him and blow raspberries.

And then his blood froze when he realized that the singing mirrored his own right down to the pitch and emphasis on certain words.

From the thick shadows coating the woods, his doppelgänger stepped out, still humming that cheery tune. Clothing, hair, and physique – everything except for Leon’s slightly ragged appearance was the same. His mirror self abruptly quieted down when he spotted Hop trying to stand tall and defiant only to shiver and cower when they locked gazes.

A wide, relieved grin stretched across his lips.

“There you are, Hopscotch! You had me worried there! Now, be a good little brother and come on home, okay?” Other Leon strolled towards him at his own pace, with eyes that only seemed to notice Hop and no one else and yet oblivious to the way he shied away.

Leon barred his path by stepping in between them and his doppelgänger finally seemed to notice him.

“What the hell are you?” he asked, an octave lower than usual, “and where do you think you’re taking him?” He didn’t miss how the Hop lookalike hid behind Bede at the sight of his other self either.

Other Leon hesitated in his movements and stared at him blankly, and then he laughed. He laughed until the grin he wore looked ready to split his face in half and his muscles spasmed as he doubled over. Ignoring the disturbed look sent his way, he waited until he regained control to speak.

“Oh, that’s rich! You ignore the only brother you have until he comes running to me and _then_ you go searching after him? Do you know…how much I’ve waited for this moment, the moment when I’d come face-to-face with the bastard that caused my little brother so much pain?” Every word shouted made his grin more and more hard-set until it became little more than a predatory snarl. “Go on, tell him, Hopscotch. Tell _him_ how much you didn’t want to come back.”

“Hoppy?” His real brother’s quiet, unsure tone made Hop duck his head to avoid the disappointment or betrayal that was surely there. And yet he couldn’t find it in him to speak up in defense, so he stayed silent.

“You don’t deserve him. You’ll never appreciate him until you have to say goodbye to his cold, dead body like I had to.” Leon flinched and took a step back and that only incited his other self to step forward. “It’s too bad I’m so damn stubborn. I know you’ll – I’ll never give up until I’m beaten down.”

Hop’s head raised in alarm. His other brother spread his arms out to the side in some sort of invitation and with a roar that shook the trees, his Charizard shot forth over him, rustling his hair and tailcoat.

The beast lunged towards Leon, wings outstretched and claws poised, until another Charizard barreled into him and sent them both tumbling in a flurry of limbs and fire.

“Blitz! Take the battle to the sky!” Leon ordered, noting how close their tails got to the foliage. His Charizard grunted and hoisted his foe upwards in a Seismic Toss. They disappeared from sight, leaving only the sound of their attacks and growling behind.

Bede ushered Aster over to the Impidimp, who took him by the hands.

“Hans, Grendel, get Aster to Ballonlea and help him find shelter. And then find anyone else who’s looking for us and lead them here, got it?” Hans babbled and nodded. They led the boy away and soon, they blended into the darkness. Bede called out his Hatterene again.

“Oh no you don’t,” Other Leon said with a drone and a smirk as he sent out his Aegislash, “I’m not letting you catch me off guard this time.”

He turned around in time to see a fist homing in on his face. It connected with his cheek with a satisfying crack. Like their Charizard, both Leons fell into a tangle on the ground.

Hop grimaced when his brother – or was it his other brother? – slammed his head against the other’s. He pulled out his Dubwool’s Pokéball and released him. The sheep shook himself to fluff out his wool and shifted into a battle stance, only to tilt his horned head in confusion and baa when he saw the two Leons fighting.

“Hop!”

Raihan sprinted and ducked under a branch on his way to him. He picked him up in a short, fierce hug and then let him go.

“Hi, Rai,” Hop said, slightly winded, “um, which Rai are you? You’re Lee’s boyfriend, right?”

“Of course, kid.” Raihan made a face. “How many Great Raihans do you know? Anyway, where the hell’ve you been? We’ve been combing the entire area for you and your friend!” Before he got an answer, he poked his head around and swore he saw double. “And why’re there two Lees duking it out over there?”

Hop gave him the abridged version of everything so far.

Raihan’s gaze flitted over to the Leons again. One of them grabbed a fistful of purple hair and yanked, causing the other to yelp and retaliate by pushing him over and pinning him on top. Sweat made their skin shine and they panted from the exertion.

And no matter which Leon it was, those tight slacks made his ass looked fantastic in the air like that.

“Why can’t they fight over me like that?” he muttered so low not even Hop heard him. He watched them roll around intently, not noticing that the boy was trying to get his attention.

“Rai!” He finally tore his eyes away and looked at him dumbly. “I need your help! I don’t know which Lee is which!”

“Whaddya want me to do?” Raihan shrugged. The Dubwool stood by, awaiting his trainer’s order.

“I dunno…call out to him? The other Lee isn’t with the other you so he won’t respond to you like our Lee would.” Raihan shrugged again but complied and cupped his hands over his mouth to shout.

“Babe!”

Immediately, the two Leons halted. The top had the one below him in mid-strangle and only the latter responded with an exasperated “what?” despite being choked out. The other Leon had no time to put two and two together. Hop pointed at him.

“That one! Edie, use Headbutt!” The sheep Pokémon lowered his head and charged forward, striking the Leon on top with the blunt of his horns. He flew off with a strangled yell and skidded on the leafy ground.

“Thanks,” Leon said as he stood up and brushed the dirt and branches off of him. Bruises and welts marred both of their bodies. He winced when he touched a particularly nasty one on his right arm. Hop jogged up to him and soon, Bede joined in as well. His Hatterene and Other Leon’s Aegislash had knocked each other out in a draw.

“Why…why would you strike your own brother?” Other Leon clambered to his feet and glared at them. “Why would you stand by them after they neglected and ignored you?”

“I’m not your little brother,” Hop said with a sigh, “and yes, I felt alone so any attention was better than none. But I realized how much I missed my world and the people in it, including Glo and Vic. And what you did to Aster…” With his brother by him, he felt stronger, fearless. “…you need to let your Hop and me go, Lee.”

Other Leon’s shoulders slumped and quivered. His hair curtained around his face, blocking his expression from view.

And then Hop saw something dangerously sharp and metal glint in the moonlight.

When his other brother sprang forth with a garbled shout, the tip of the blade aimed for Leon’s heart, his body moved as well without thinking and he used all of his weight to slam into him. Other Leon lost his balance and fell with Hop on top of him and the weapon disappeared in the scuffle.

“Hop!” Leon kicked his other self away from him and pulled his brother up. “What were you thinking? That was reckless!” Hop swatted his hand away.

“Hey, cut me some slack! I just...saved…y-you…?” His body suddenly felt weak and heavy like lead. Why was his vision blurring?

Hop reached to touch his stomach and his fingers came away dripping red.

He looked down to see that the dagger had embedded itself in his stomach.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ...oops.
> 
> If it was the other way around and there were two Hops instead, Leon would be able to easily tell which one's which by some minute detail like his Hop being a quarter of an inch taller than the other Hop or some crazy observation like that. Its totally canon too, Leon's super observant.
> 
> I kinda wish I had the two Raihans meet. They'd be chill and just take selfies the whole time (and compare their Pokémon sizes lel)


	9. Destroying the Looking Glass

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mirror!Leon faces the consequences of his actions and tries to make amends. Leon faces the consequences of his negligence.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lotsa makin' up and sentimental stuff here.

“L-Lee…?”

Hop’s legs gave out from underneath him at the sight of the protruding weapon; instead of the cold, unforgiving ground he expected to fall onto, he landed into something warm and comfortable, but not soft either. The sound of thunderous, frantic drumming – heartbeats? – rang in his ears.

He heard his older brother rasp his name, saw his brown skin become unnaturally pale, and then everything around him descended into chaos. He felt hands all over him shaking him desperately or reassuring him. Somewhere, a keen, high-pitched wail rose over the clamor.

“Hold him still, Lee! I’m gonna check- kid, you better not close your eyes, dammit!” Raihan let out a colorful string of expletives. He worked the bottom of the shirt up and over the weapon’s hilt so that it rolled up just up past the boy’s belly button.

“It’ll be okay, Hoppy, it’ll be okay,” Leon repeated, chanted, each time sounding more broken than the last. He halted mid-sentence to screech at his other self, who had dared to come close. “ _You!_ Stay away from him!”

“Deep breaths, kid, it’s not that bad.” A lie from Raihan, but he appreciated the sentiment. He couldn’t quite feel the blade in his flesh yet, not with adrenaline pumping through him, though he saw that the dagger had sunk to the hilt. His breathing became ragged and shallow less from pain and more from shock and fear.

A teary, ashen face knelt into his line of vision and very gingerly, Bede slipped his hand into his own without any sort of hesitation or touch-repulsiveness. Hop gave it a light squeeze.

“We-” A sniffle. “We still have to bring Hans and Grendel back, remember? You told me you were doing this for Primrose and Aster. Well, they’re counting on you so don’t…don’t you d-dare…” Bede trailed off and bit his lip.

The Dubwool trudged up to his trainer and with a long, morose bleat, he laid his round body against Hop’s lower half. He used Cotton Guard to fluff out his wool and cover the wound entirely. When the sheep Pokémon stood back up and moved away, a dark crimson covered one side of his fleece. The bleeding slowed, if only a little.

“We’re close to a center, I think. They can…they can take this blasted thing out properly,” Raihan continued and raked a shaking hand under his bandana. “Lee, get ready to hoist the kid up.”

“I…I don’t want to jostle his injuries o-or-… _I said get away from him!_ ” If he hadn’t been holding Hop in his arms, he would’ve lashed out and struck his other self.

“L-Let me see him, p-please!” Other Leon sobbed the last word out and Hop realized that he had been the one wailing earlier.

“S’okay, Lee…wanna talk to him.” Hop held out his hand towards the broken man, who leapt to grab it in a death grip. Leon and Raihan exchanged glances but said nothing.

“I didn’t mean to, I’m so sorry, Hop, I didn’t mean to…”

“I know. Just…stop fightin’ each other, please. And Lee, promise me you’ll let me go and move on. Your Rai’s waiting for you. He wants to help you, everyone wants to help you. What you’ve done to me, Bede, Aster, and yourself, it’s not healthy, Lee.”

Other Leon made a small, pained noise in the back of his throat.

“Promise me, please…”

“…I promise, Hopscotch.”

Hop searched for the lie, anything that would contradict his other brother’s words, and found that the veil, the shadow that had shrouded his eyes over in insanity had lifted, leaving them clearer than they ever been. With a satisfied nod, he reclined his head into the crook of Leon’s elbow and awaited to be lifted.

“There they are! Over there!”

From the bushes, multiple people stepped out and hurried towards them. He couldn’t see much from his vantage but he heard a pair of strongly accented voices call for him and he nearly sobbed there and then.

“Hop? Hop! Oh, it’s really you, mate! Where’ve you been all this time?”

“Careful, Glo! He’s been hurt!”

“Vic, how’s…the studyin’ going? Been promoted to professor by Granny yet?” Hop greeted him with an easy, lopsided smile. Victor managed a laugh and wiped his eyes with a sleeve.

“You kidding? Couldn’t focus on anythin’ while you were gone so Professor Magnolia ordered me to take some time off.”

“What ‘bout you, Glo? How’d the exhibition matches go?”

“Och, ye dobber! You have a knife in ye and you’re askin’ me how I’m doin’?” Gloria glared at him through her tears. “For th’ record, I canceled all my matches the day you went missin’, Hoppy.”

Despite himself, Hop couldn’t help but smile.

Meanwhile, Opal hobbled along with her umbrella cane and kept her aged eyes out for someone in particular.

“Bede? Bede, where are you, child?” She found him staring at his very first friend, the boy she knew who could make her adopted grandson a better person, with a strange palette of emotions flickering on his face. She saw that look often when they passed by families.

Bede turned his head at her call and dropped his mouth into a perfect ‘o’, his eyes instantly welling up.

“Ms. Opal?” As fast as her frail legs could take her, she moved to close the distance between them. She didn’t have to go far for he met her halfway.

She never truly hugged the boy before, not when he had been so touch-repulsed for the longest time. Gradually, he allowed her to give him quick head pats and eventually, to stroke his curly hair.

“Oh, Bede, I’m so sorry, dear child. If I’d had known…” Opal positioned her arm so it wrapped under his shoulder instead of over it. She noticed how one shoulder drooped lower than the other.

Bede cracked under the warm embrace. Oh, he realized, that’s why he never understood reunions.

He never had the joy of experiencing one.

* * *

They sat in the brightly lit, cramped waiting room in the Ballonlea Pokémon Center. A heavy and oppressive silence settled in the room amidst the scattered quiet conversations and muttering.

The Postwick twins sat next to each other, each in their own thoughts, though Gloria occasionally crossed her arms and tapped her foot against the ground rapidly. Sonia had her head against Nessa’s shoulder as she flipped through her Rotom Phone to distract herself. Piers and Marnie waited quietly, though they stole glances at the double doors leading to the ER room every now and then.

“Why wouldn’t he want to come back? I just…I don’t understand, Rai…” Leon murmured as he and Raihan shared each other’s seats to form a bubble of their own. That was the one question that still plagued him even after the fighting ended, and he wasn’t about to ask his other self why Hop wanted to stay with him lest they ended up brawling again in the Pokémon Center.

Other Leon sat the furthest away from all of them in a corner. He couldn’t quite meet any of their eyes even with their curious looks. An accident, his counterpart had said. He could’ve pointed a finger at him, accuse him of hurting Hop intentionally, and they would’ve all turned on him.

He didn’t know how he deserved such a mercy.

Now, out of the corner of his eye, he watched an intimacy unfold, one he knew he would never share with his Raihan, not after pushing him and his friends away.

“You really don’t know? And here I thought you were supposed to be smart and observant, a _prodigy_ ,” someone spat from across the room, shattering the thick silence into sharp, miniscule shards. Everyone stared at Bede, who in turn directed a glare at Leon, though his red-rimmed eyes mitigated the intimidating effect. After their reunion, Opal returned home to give Aster a warm bath, a hot meal, and much needed sleep.

“W-What do you mean by that?” Leon attempted to adopt a collected demeanor by straightening himself and squaring his shoulders; the slight tremor to his voice fooled no one. Raihan laid a calloused hand on his arm.

“When was the last time you hugged him? Or praised him, or acknowledged him? When did any of you hang out with him last?” The more he spoke, the louder he got and the more acidic his tone became. He swept around the room where its occupants either looked away in shame or challenged his gaze directly. Leon especially recoiled as though he’d been punched or slapped across the face.

“Come closer ‘n say that to my face, Bede. I dare ye,” Gloria growled, a hand reaching down to where her Pokéballs were clipped. Victor reached out with a shake of his head although he sent a scowl too over his shoulder.

“The other you was right, even though he’s a rotten bastard,” continued Bede, ignoring the Champion entirely. “You ignored him to point where he broke down in front of us. You forgot his birthday! Even that rotten bastard remembered it! Hop thought you’d all be better off and happier without him! All of you, especially _you_ , Mr. Chairman, made him feel unloved and worthless!”

“That’s _enough!_ ” Raihan finally roared, and that shut Bede up and anyone else who wanted to say something. His lithe body half-curled around his boyfriend in a manner that resembled a dragon guarding their hatchlings or treasure. What little they saw of Leon through Raihan’s protective stance was of a man who curled into himself, gripping his own arms as though it would protect him from the white-haired boy’s razor sharp accusations.

“I…” Leon croaked, “I-I’m sorry…I’m sorry, Hop…” His breaths came out in short, erratic gasps and sobs. Even his other self felt a twinge in his heart at his pathetic state.

“Shh, shh, it’s okay, babe. You’ll be able to tell him when he wakes up.” Raihan uncurled himself and took the man's wet face into his hands.

A polite cough from the direction of the double doors interrupted them. One of the doctors who wheeled Hop into the room beyond now stood, holding a clipboard in one hand.

“Hello, everyone, I’m Doctor Holly. You’re all here for Hop, correct?” A chorus of agreement greeted her. Leon stood up, shakily, though she was kind enough to not mention what she had witnessed or the yelling she heard earlier. If she had caught a glimpse of the other Leon, she would’ve wondered when the chairman had a twin.

“Doctor, is he going to be okay?” asked Leon. She smiled at him.

“Yes, he’ll be fine with some rest. You were smart to leave the weapon inside. He would’ve lost a lot of blood too quickly otherwise.”

Cheers erupted and the waiting room became a stark contrast of what it once was. Bede’s sour disposition melted away and he slumped in his chair with a sigh. Even the normally sullen Piers turned to Marnie with a tiny smile.

Nobody noticed that a lone figure slipped out of the room and into the night. Other Leon bit back a sob and sent a prayer of thanks to whatever deity had listened to him before slipping away into the forest.

* * *

Fluffy. When his drugged mind came to and kick-started his thought process, that was the first thing he noticed and felt. Woolly cotton enveloped him, not unbearably so, and for a while, he drifted on a sea of clouds.

To his right, a pleasant humming accompanied his trip on the clouds. It was an odd, jaunty little tune and if he remembered correctly, was about a man who lost his flock of Wooloo one day and ventured out to search for them. A long time ago, Leon often sang it whenever his little brother felt sad or scraped his knee.

A blissed smile spread across his chapped lips.

His fingers twitched. Hop’s eyes fluttered open, blearily, straining against the artificial overhead lights. Fingertips brushed against a ball of wool and that ball of wool settled next to him stirred. His Dubwool lifted his head and blinked large, oval pupils at him.

“E…die…” he muttered. Edie bleated and nuzzled his trainer gently. The humming petered out. He heard a soft gasp and the sound of clothes rustling.

“Hoppy?” The sight of his brother – _blood, insanity, cackling_ – caused his body to jolt and tense up. He tried to scoot away. “It’s just me, little bro, the real me.” The way Leon deflated and furrowed his eyebrows at the fear plain on his face made Hop attempt to push the involuntary emotion down.

“L-Lee…’m sorry…” He wanted to say more but Leon cut him off with an astonished shake of his head.

“What’re you sorry for? I should be sorry! I didn’t know, I swear, and I should’ve paid attention. Fucking hell, why didn’t I…?” Leon started to break all over again. “I’ve been such a bad brother to you, and because of that, you…”

 _Now you’re hurt and scared of me._ He couldn’t say it out loud. He didn’t know everything that his other self did, and he was terrified to find out.

“Lee…stoppit.” He reached out blindly, his arms felt like heavyweights, and yet he found his brother’s trembling hand. “S’okay. You didn’t know and I forgive you. Won’t run away again either.”

“You know none of us would be happier without you, right?”

“I know.”

Together, they wept.

* * *

The first thing he did once he crossed over into his world was to have his Charizard destroy the portal.

He watched numbly as Blitz incinerated the tunnel log and used his tail and claws to topple the twisted trees over each other. Whatever remained of the invisible gateway lay beneath their corpses.

Once Blitz finished his work, he called him back into his Pokéball and turned to survey the damage he caused. The fire had spread all the way here, leaving trees as blackened and decrepit as the one by the portal on their death throes. Displaced Pokémon wandered and glanced up at the trees with forlorn cries.

All this for someone he couldn’t let go.

Leon took out the spare dagger he brought with him. At least this one didn’t have his brother’s blood on it. In the light of the first rays to peek over the horizon, he caught his reflection on the weapon’s metallic surface.

Gaunt. Hollow. His cheeks looked sunken in. He was so, so tired.

He rested the sharp edge against soft flesh, right below his Adam’s apple. The blade sung to him, whispered promises of freedom and solace, of repentance if he spilled his own blood.

He closed his eyes.

“Lee!”

His eyes snapped open.

Raihan sprinted around the tree husks towards him. Towards him? He thought his long-time rival and friend would want nothing to do with him anymore. Had he been waiting for him the entire time?

The taller man slowed to a stop in front of him. Slowly, Leon lowered the dagger from his throat, only to have Raihan snatch it away and throw it into the charred bark of a tree husk. For a long minute, he said nothing to him and only squinted at him closely, as if he was searching for some telltale sign. Nothing on his face gave him away. He nodded, satisfied.

Then he socked Leon right in the jaw.

The chairman accepted it without a noise of complaint and stumbled back. He certainly didn’t expect a pair of arms to wrap around him as if he was the last person on the planet. Raihan’s chin fit snugly on the top of his mop of hair.

“Fuck, Lee, you’re back, you’re back. I missed ya,” Raihan said under his breath. Something told Leon that he wasn’t talking about physically returning. “I know you’re hurting. You need help, Lee, and I should’ve been there for you. I’m here now. We’re here now.”

Leon clung onto him as if he too was the last person on Earth and sobbed into his hooded jacket.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not gonna lie, I was tempted to kill off Mirror!Leon at first.
> 
> I wasn't expecting the Raihan/Leon to be as prominent in these last few chapters. Wondering if I should change the tag from "Minor Raihan/Leon" to an actual relationship tag lol.
> 
> BTW, to anyone who bought the DLC, enjoy the Crown Tundra! I'm lookin forward to it!


	10. Happily Maybe After

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everyone gets as happy of an ending as they can get despite the hurdles.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Last scene is in the mirror world. I didn't use 'other' to refer to Mirror!Leon and Mirror!Raihan since its only them.

Leaning against the wall of the dim hallway that led out into the open stadium, Hop watched Bede wrap up his training session.

Ballonlea’s Gym Leader ordered his Hatterene to strike the makeshift dummy he set up with Shadow Ball once more, and then gave the signal to stop.

“Good job today, Hatty. I’ll ask Ms. Opal to bake some scones for us later on…but before that, let’s ask our guest how he liked today’s performance, shall we?” Bede kept facing Hatterene but raised his voice enough so the other boy heard.

“What can I say? Top form as always, you two,” Hop replied and pushed off the wall with a carefree grin. “We should have another battle sometime! A proper one with people watching, and this time, I’ll be the one gloating!”

Bede smirked and recalled Hatty back. “As long as you haven’t been slacking off in your training.”

Through the auditorium, out the front door of the gym, and into Ballonlea proper they strolled and chatted together while they waved at the locals.

“How’s your shoulder healin’?” Hop asked.

“Better now that I can train again. Waiting inside Ms. Opal’s house for the last few weeks had been driving me insane.” It didn’t help his injury that he waited until after he got to visit a breathing and very alive Hop that he let the doctors examine his shoulder. Not that he’d ever tell his friend how worried he was, of course. “And yours?”

“Same.” Hop’s fingers briefly ghosted the fabric that covered his healing abdominal scar. He disliked it. It stuck out sorely whenever he passed by a mirror and it wasn’t like he could impress Gloria with it anyway. “Lee’s been a mother hen lately, tellin’ me not to overdo it. Even Mum and Granddad fuss over me more…and Glo, Vic, and Marnie have been taking time out of their schedules to hang out with me. So I guess it hasn’t been all that bad.” He scratched his chin.

“I don’t think they’ve forgiven me quite yet,” said Bede, crossing his arms with an attempted air of indifference. “Only Marnie still makes conversation.”

“Aw, Glo and Vic’ll come around eventually. They still like you, well, Vic does anyway, and they honestly felt bad. And I, uh, heard about what you said in that waiting room, about how you stuck up for me. You didn’t have to do that, ya know, but I appreciate it.” Hop capped off his thanks with a light flush and a pleased beam.

“Think nothing of it. It needed to be said.”

At the town’s exit and the entrance to the woods, they found the two Asters, Primrose, the Impidimp brothers, and a Phantump playing Hide-and-Seek. Hop chuckled when the Phantump forgot its ghostly body remained visible and covered its eyes with its stubby hands to hide.

“Mr. Bede! Mr. Bede! Thank you for bringing Hans and Gren and a new brother back!” Primrose bounded up to them. Aster stopped mid-count and he along with the rest of them followed suit.

Without his ill pallor and emaciated body from his time spent underground, Other Aster looked identical to his counterpart in every way and started to emerge from his silent shell. An image of Leon on the TV caused the boy to have a full-blown panic attack, so everyone made sure not to mention the former Champion’s name around him.

To ease the twins’ mother’s financial burden, Opal had agreed to take the other Aster in until he could take care of himself. If his love of Dark and Fairy-types were anything to go by, Bede figured he’d have an apprentice before the end of the year.

“It wasn’t me who found them, Primrose,” Bede said, making a vague motion to the one standing next to him. Prim turned her wide, surprised stare towards Hop.

“Oh! Um, thank you very much then, Mr. Le-…kind sir!” Other Aster shuffled up to her, hands clasped and eyes downcast, and whispered something into her ear. “His name is Hop? Okay! Thank you very much, Mr. Hop!” Prim curtsied.

Other Aster lifted his eyes momentarily to give Hop a shy smile before lowering them again.

“It’s nothing, really! I’m just glad everyone’s safe!” Hop felt his face heating up once more.

The kids and Pokémon resumed their game and both Hop and Bede watched them. Hop started to fidget and tap his foot.

“You’re awfully tense,” Bede said, never taking his eyes off the game, “is this about your exam coming up?” Hop had the sense to look sheepish.

“That obvious, huh? Yeah, I mean I think I’m ready, I really do, but there’s that stupid little voice that tells me that I’m gonna fail…” Opening up to others about his insecurities would’ve mortified his younger self, but he knew better now than to believe his friends would think any less of him.

“Imagine that little voice as an opponent to beat – a solid, breathing opponent, and then imagine absolutely crushing that opponent with your Dubwool in battle. Does that help?” Hop laughed and nodded. “Good. Remember everything you learned and you’ll pass.”

Eventually, the twins’ mother ushered the children and Pokémon in for a mid-afternoon snack. Bede pardoned himself and walked over to her. Hop witnessed him make small talk with her and then he pulled out a wad of cash, presumably part of his earnings as a Gym Leader, and handed it over to her. The woman nearly collapsed in tears and accepted the money with a hundred blessings on him.

“What?” Bede asked when he walked back, “What’s that look for? They’ve been having financial problems for a while and as the Gym Leader of my town, it’s my duty to help them.”

* * *

When Hop came home one day, he did so while beaming brightly to his family.

“Guess who Professor Sonia’s senior assistant is now?”

He barely had time to prepare himself for the incoming bear hug.

* * *

“What if I start to become like him?”

Raihan glanced up from his Rotom phone and, seeing that Leon stopped paying attention to the movie as well, set it down with a sigh and turned off the telly.

“You won’t, Lee, trust me.” He didn’t have to ask who ‘him’ was. ‘Him’ became a code word between them to mean Leon’s mirror counterpart. To call him anything other than ‘him’ only served to remind Leon that he shared the same name and face as that criminal. It was bad enough he probably couldn’t show his face in Ballonlea ever again.

“How do you know for sure?”

“First off, you’re not a fuckin’ psycho.”

“That’s because I have you and Hop. If either of you died, I…I think I’d begin to understand why he went down that path.”

“But we’re not dead, babe, and you’re _not_ him. Plus, he ain’t half as handsome as you.” He decided not to tell Leon he’d been ogling his counterpart’s ass too.

“We look the same, Rai,” Leon deadpanned.

“Yeah, well, he doesn’t like me like you do.”

“I don’t know about that.” He caught his other self’s crestfallen, longing look at the two of them holding hands.

“Anyways,” Raihan said as he curled up against him, long limbs snaking around his boyfriend’s shorter ones, “don’t think too much about what could’ve happened and just appreciate what you got.”

Leon smiled; he could definitely appreciate how warm he felt now.

They stayed like that for the rest of the night.

* * *

“Where’re you going, Hoppy?”

Hop froze mid-stride, halfway through the living room and heading for the front door. He wore his usual blue fur-lined jacket and his brown bag over his shoulder. He hadn’t noticed his brother.

Expecting him to be forever disapproving, stern-faced, suffocating – _“only I have your best interests in mind” –_ he spun around to Leon’s honest, kind, inquisitive eyes instead. Inquisitive and gentle, but not overbearing.

You idiot, he chided himself. This was Lee, _his_ big brother and idol Lee, stop making him out to be a monster. It must’ve shown on him for a flicker of pain danced across Leon’s expression, disappearing as quickly as it appeared.

“Just gonna hang out with friends, Lee.” He, Marnie, Bede, Gloria, and Victor all agreed to meet up at Bob’s Your Uncle in Circhester for lunch.

“Oh, have fun then!” Leon smiled brilliantly, not brilliantly as he would for the cameras and fans, but brilliantly in sheer warmth and sincerity. Only those closest to him had the privilege of seeing that smile.

“I’ll be back for dinner and game night later.” Leon shook his head with a smaller smile.

“Don’t worry about Rai, Piers, and I, little bro. You stay out and have a good time.”

Hop waved and started to head out, paused for a moment, and then turned around to give him a brief, tight hug.

“Thanks, Lee.”

He left, the door clicking shut behind him.

* * *

_“-confessed to burning down part of the Glimwood Tangle. Galar’s beloved star and former Champion turned himself in yesterday. Ms. Oleana, recently pardoned by Leon himself, has been given full ownership of the Battle Tower. Later, we’ll cover former Chairman Rose’s-_ ”

Raihan turned the telly off with a sigh and faced the man sitting across from him. They sat in Rose’s old prison cell on simple wood, hard-backed chairs. Leon replaced his predecessor’s posh taste in furniture and décor with a plainer style. Empty space remained where golden statues of past historical figures once stood, a creaky old bed substituted Rose’s magnificent king-sized one, and what little clothes he brought along nestled in a box under said bed.

He didn’t want to live like a king, he had told Raihan. Not anymore. He kept the telly though.

“Surprised you went through with this, Lee. I thought you couldn’t stand not being adored by everyone,” said Raihan. Leon gave him a wry smile.

“That makes the two of us then, doesn’t it? Still, I’d rather have people know who their ‘beloved’ Champion really is than have them continue to look up to a broken idol.” That wryness turned self-deprecating. Even if his friends and family, his mum, reacted with horror and disappointment at what he did, even if they never talked to him again and he was left alone to rot in this cell, it was worth it.

The truth about Aster remained a secret to the general public. The twins’ parents’, as regretful as they may had been, believed that their children had perished in the woods. Better for them if they never knew their son had survived and suffered for it.

“I told you earlier that we’re not gonna leave you behind, and that hasn’t changed a bit.” Like a telepath, he knew exactly where Leon’s train of thoughts led to. “Your mum, Sonia, and Granny care too much about you.”

“…and you?” Leon took a chance by placing a hand on top of Raihan’s. The dragon tamer shook it off casually and levelled him with a cool, dispassionate stare.

How stupid and selfish of him to think he could have what his counterpart had. He didn’t deserve it. He could hear Rose admonish him now, “ _Foolish boy, always with your head in the clouds. You never see the bigger picture.”_

“Hands off, Leon.”

“What happened to ‘Lee’?” he asked so quietly it came out as a mumble.

“Maybe when you earn that trust back. Maybe.”

‘When’, not ‘if’. Leon could work with that. Maybe that applied to everyone else as well.

Maybe, when that ‘when’ happened, he could learn to forgive himself too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Eh, still feels like Mirror!Leon got off too easily.
> 
> Bede seems the type to downplay his character development.
> 
> Before:  
> Hop: "Hug?"  
> Bede: *hisses*
> 
> After:  
> Hop: "Hug?"  
> Bede: *holds out arms* I'm getting cold, dammit
> 
> Thanks to anyone who's read it this far!


	11. Once Upon a Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ...in the mirror world, the Second Darkest Day happened.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome to the final chapter! We're going back in time now to when the Second Darkest Day happened in the mirror world.
> 
> Since things didn't end well in this world, here's a fair warning: this one's gonna be heavy and dark. Major Character Death and blood ahead.

As the ground beneath his feet quaked, as an unnatural violent maelstrom threatened to blot the sky in perpetual darkness, and as the cries of his Pokémon, Zacian, and Eternatus melded into one cacophonic roar, Hop knew he was going to die.

Blood and poison filled his lungs, his mouth, out the jagged wound in his stomach, and the realization sent a paralyzing stab of fear from his brain to the tips of his fingers.

“Edie…s’okay, not your…f-fault,” he murmured to his first and dearest companion, a friend he made out in Postwick’s grazing fields years ago on a sunny afternoon. The Dubwool lowered his ears and Hop reached out to brush his wool one last time. His hand and Edie’s soft wool came away sticky red.

He saw the eldritch dragon’s rake-like talons aim for his fatigued partner in a death blow and his body moved on its own. He would’ve died instantly had his body been angled differently when those claws ripped open his flesh and injected him with venom.

“Run…get help,” he pleaded, but he knew Edie wouldn’t listen – just like him and Leon, stubborn to the end. A trainer and Pokémon who outlived the other was a dreadful thing. The sheep Pokémon baaed, licked his cheek, and barreled back into the battle.

Hop sagged to his knees. He forced his head up towards Bede, who had long since fallen silent and stared endlessly at the darkening sky, the Rusted Shield still in his grip. Even with the glassy film over his eyes, his expression twisted into a mix of pleading and indignation, as if asking the gods why he hadn’t been Zamazenta’s chosen.

Only Zacian showed up to battle Eternatus when he and Bede raised their respective weapons in the air. And now only Zacian stood between its mortal foe and Galar’s destruction.

He bowed his head to the boy who had mocked and beat him at every turn, now laying there with a gaping hole in his heart. Perhaps in another life they could’ve been friends.

Then he faced his brother, who had been knocked unconscious from Eternatus breaking free from the Pokéball and thrown like a ragdoll many feet away. He began to crawl towards him. His breaths became labored and as heavy as his limbs felt. Blood streaked the concrete ground of the rooftop under him while he dragged himself.

“Lee…L-Lee, help…me…” A sob tumbled from his mouth and with it, more blood. “Please, help…I-I don’t wanna…” His knees and arms gave out and his chin smacked the metal floor as he collapsed. Slowly, he continued to reach out in some blind attempt to reach his older brother, to hold onto anything. Instead of a warm arm or the velvet touch of the red and gold-lined cape, his hand groped at air.

In the distance, a sheep’s bleating death cry and Eternatus’ unearthly, weakening bellows signaled the end of the fight. Silence followed.

While he lay dying and the searing pain in his belly turned into a dull, numb ache as the poison infiltrated his organs one by one, he only had a single thought in mind.

‘Did I make you proud, Lee?’

* * *

They sat on a bench one spring afternoon in Wyndon plaza, eating ice cream. The start of the season brought showers until, finally, the sun decided to show itself that day. Still, they brought jackets just in case – Galar’s weather was known for changing at the drop of a hat.

“How’s th’ ice cream, Hopscotch?” Leon asked, letting his natural Postwick accent roll off the tongue as though he’d never stopped using it. It simply felt right to him after having to learn to speak formally in public.

“Mm, yummy! Thanks, Lee!” Hop kicked his shorter legs back and forth under the bench, heedless to the bits of waffle cone and chocolate on his face. He fussed a bit when his older brother grabbed a napkin and dabbed at his face, but settled down when he had his hair ruffled fondly.

For another few minutes, they sat in silence and finished their treats. While Hop gazed around at the skyscrapers and the crowds of people passing in wide-eyed wonder, Leon kept his eyes glued to the ground. Thanks to the hat and his hair tucked inside, few recognized him.

“I’m sorry I haven’t been able to visit you as much lately,” he said, breaking the comfortable stillness that settled between them, “you know how busy big bro gets when the Gym Challenge kicks off, yeah?” He couldn’t admit it out loud to Hop that he had begged Rose and Oleana repeatedly for some time off.

Hop nodded. “S’okay, Edie plays with me when I get bored. We go on adventures together!” He sidetracked into a story where he and his Wooloo pretended to battle and catch other Pokémon in the fields near home before refocusing on the topic. Leon felt the tension in his body ebb away. At least Hop had a new friend after their old neighbors moved out. “Oh, Mum ‘n I love watchin’ the Gym Challenge! Lots of ‘em trainers are strong but you and Blitz beat them like ‘boooosh!’ and ‘G-Max Wildfire!’”

Leon couldn’t keep the grin from spreading at the way his brother enthusiastically gestured with his hands and mimicked his Charizard’s roar as best he could.

“Y’know, Lee, when I win and become Champ, you hafta buy me all the ice creams in th’ world!” The boy counted off all the flavors he liked and ran out of fingers to count. Leon blinked, and then burst into laughter. A couple of people sent looks their way. Hop pouted. “Y’ think I can’t win, do ya?”

“No, no! That’s not it.” He held his sides until the laughs turned into chuckles. “You just surprised me, that’s all. I definitely think you can win. You’ve already shown how well you get along with Pokémon. So it’s a deal, little bro.” He ruffled the boy’s hair again.

Hop suddenly went slack for a high-spirited child his age and he craned his head in a robotic way to stare at him straight in the eyes.

 _“I’m sorry, Lee, I couldn’t save him,”_ Hop said, with a deep voice so unlike him and in a tone that wavered and broke. Tears dripped down his rosy cheeks. Leon opened his mouth only to produce no sound other than a low groan. Around him, the world stuttered. _“Come back, please…”_

And then he slowly woke to a dull ache thrumming in his joints and to his dear rival hunched over him. He gave Raihan’s hand a gentle squeeze.

“Lee!” Raihan’s eyes were red and slightly puffy. Had he been crying over him? “No, don’t get up. The doc’s gotta run some tests on you; they said you hit your head pretty hard.”

Hit his head? When did that happen? Leon’s face scrunched at the lights and the gaping hole in his memory.

“Hope I didn’t worry you too much, Rai. That look doesn’t suit you at all,” he said. Raihan attempted a half-smile and nothing more. Odd. His social media obsessed friend never gave up the chance to comment on his ‘devilishly good looks’ – or Leon’s either, for that matter.

“I’ll stop worryin’ when you get some more rest. You still have the Champion Cup to worry about,” Raihan said. He grimaced after mentioning the Champion Cup, though Leon assumed that he held a grudge from losing to Hop again. The boy rose through the ranks and, having won the finals match, was set on facing him for the title, until…until…?

‘What happened? Where’s Hop?’ thought Leon. He hoped Hop hadn’t been worried sick out of his mind over his clumsy oaf of a brother who probably tripped and hit his head while lost.

Ms. Oleana would give him a scolding later, and Chairman Rose…Rose… _Rose…_

He gasped, sitting straight up even though the movement made him dizzy and Raihan started to protest.

A hellish serpentine beast with six unblinking eyes filled in that memory slot and he shivered involuntarily. He’d grown cocky, thinking he could catch Eternatus with a simple Pokéball. Before he blacked out, he remembered shielding Hop. Hop, who’d of course shown up to help because that’s the brave, kind, and selfless person his little brother is.

“Eternatus! Rose, he…he started the Second Darkest Day! W-Where’s…?” His sentences came out as jumbled and disorganized as his thoughts. Raihan tried to push him back down onto the bed, only to meet resistance and a stubborn glare.

“It’s over, Lee. The kid stopped it.” The initial panic eased and he almost relaxed completely if it wasn’t for the fact that Raihan never smiled at all. The dragon tamer only grew more pained as he spoke.

“Let me see him. He’s in the waiting room now, right?” When a response never came, his eyebrows furrowed. “He’s not hurt, is he?”

In the smallest voice he ever heard him use, Raihan said, “No.”

“No? Then he’s well enough to walk, right?” Silence. Averted eyes. “What’s going on? What’re you not telling me?” His own heart starting to beat erratically, he felt a pressure building up in his chest.

“Lee, stop…”

“Fine, I’ll go see him myself.”

“Don’t!”

“Then where the _fuck_ is he, Raihan?” He grew terribly cold when the other man flinched and tears welled up. Raihan couldn’t handle the answer and apparently, neither could he. “No, no, no, nonononono-”

Leon’s chest constricted and a harsh wheezing sound left his lips. He felt himself tremble, first from the ice that spread in his veins, then from broken sobs. He somehow found small tufts of lilac hair in his hands. Oh, he hadn’t realized that he’d been gripping his hair so tightly.

Doctors buzzed around him and he barely noticed until one of them tried to calm him down. He thrashed around, wailed for his brother, or for someone – he didn’t know anymore – and it took a sharp pinprick for his world to tumble into darkness again.

Later, when they reluctantly allowed him to visit Hop, he threw up at the sight.

Most of his abdomen had been shredded and torn apart, leaving dried blood caked around it and his intestines to spill out. Sickly pink-purple veins ran through his ashen-colored flesh and branched off to his toes, fingers, neck, and heart.

On the table next to Hop’s, another body lay covered with a sheet. Curly white hair stuck out from under it. If Leon recalled correctly, the kid had been endorsed and subsequently disowned by the Chairman.

Because of his carelessness, two boys were dead. It should’ve been him.

When he asked – begged – the coroner whether Hop’s death had been instant, the man grew solemnly quiet and merely expressed his condolences.

Leon focused on the face and tried to ignore the messy remains below. At least his face remained unscathed and Leon could pretend his little brother closed his eyes for a nap. He started to hum ‘Two Little Mice’ as he carded his fingers through the other’s short locks of hair, only for his voice to break near the end.

“C’mon, Hopscotch,” he whispered, pressing his lips against a warm – _icy cold_ – forehead, “we made a promise, remember? You still have to win against me and then I’ll buy you all the ice cream you want.”

* * *

From all over the region, people flocked to mourn their savior and the Pokémon that perished alongside him.

In the front row next to Leon, his mum sat there weeping against his granddad’s shoulder while the latter had an arm around her. As for himself, he sat silent, lifeless, as if someone cast a gray film over his eyes and he saw everything from far away. He knew people would whisper and point: why couldn't Galar’s golden boy, the unbeatable Champion, properly mourn his little brother’s death? They’d judge him the same if he’d done the opposite and made a complete mess out of himself at Hop’s casket.

Cry, but not too much. Show some emotion, but don’t look weak. _“Control yourself, Leon, these people want to see a leader,”_ he heard Rose tell him, distantly, in a bygone memory. Perhaps he never had control in the first place. For the remainder of the service and until the reception, he simply shut down.

Sonia approached after and gave him a tight, brief hug, whispered a few words to him, and then hurried away. Perhaps she went to grieve privately, or she couldn’t bear to look at him without seeing failure. Piers offered to get him shit-faced later, which he graciously accepted. Even Raihan, who would’ve at least offered some words of comfort, kept his distance. He would look over at Leon, wanting to say something, nearly reaching out, but held back. Had Raihan become disillusioned with him too?

“You poor dear, I’m sorry about your loss. I’m sure everything happens for a reason.”

“Take heart, Champion, your brother died a hero! He’ll be remembered forever!”

“It gets better, I promise.”

Leon nodded and thanked every one of the faceless people – people who never knew Hop, loved Hop, grew up with Hop – with a plastered on smile. None of it meant anything when he’d never get to come home to his excited ramblings or fierce support on a bad day ever again.

He excused himself from the reception. Nobody stopped him.

* * *

Alcohol burned sweetly and for a scant few hours, he forgot about everything. A shame he received a hefty tab and a split lip later for property damage and causing a disturbance at the local pub.

He couldn’t have people think he couldn’t control himself so he swore off on the stuff, despite its tantalizing lure. He thanked Piers for the offer though.

* * *

“I’m stepping down as Champion. I want you to fill in the role instead, Raihan.”

A buzz vibrated through the conference room. A majority of the Gym Leaders and a few of the League staff gathered for a meeting that afternoon. A few gaped, while others nodded in understanding. Raihan pressed his mouth into a hard, straight line.

“Are you sure about this, Leon?” No battle to decide it, you’re just going to give the title to me like that? That’s what he wanted to say, but he knew how selfish that sounded in the wake of his old rival’s pain. They lost contact over the last few months despite a hoping glance thrown every now and then. By the time Raihan gathered the courage to approach him, Leon barely batted an eye at his presence anymore.

‘He must hate me,’ Raihan thought, unaware that his line of thinking mirrored Leon’s own.

“Yes, absolutely. You’re the only one I consider a true rival and the only one to nearly win against me so many times. There’s no one else I’d choose.” If he’d said it any other time, it would’ve sounded sentimental, or dare Raihan thought, intimate, though now Leon said it as he would anything else.

“I accept then.” They shook hands.

“Hey, Leon.” Both of them diverted their attention to Gordie, who, in contrast to his usual swagger, shuffled up to the now ex-Champion with a frown. He scratched the back of his head. “Uh…look, I didn’t get a chance to say this at the reception, but I’m really sorry about what happened to Hop. I have a few siblings myself so I can kind of imagine what you’re going through. What Chairman Rose did was-”

Something snapped. Before Gordie finished, Leon rounded on him, grabbing him by the collar and pressing his face close. An all-consuming inferno alighted in him.

“Don’t you _fucking_ say that name in front of me ever again! You have no idea how I feel, _none_ , so don’t even pretend! If you ever mention that bastard or my brother again, I'll sic Blitz on you! _Do you understand me?_ ” Gordie gulped and nodded frantically.

“Leon! What’s wrong with you? He’s just trying to offer you his support!” Melony marched up to them and yanked her son free. She glared at him, hands on her hips. Leon felt his face burn and a familiar pressure building up at his outburst. All eyes on the room were on him.

He managed to utter a meek “sorry” before dashing out of the room, out of the building, and calling his Charizard to take him somewhere far away.

When you left something to boil for too long, eventually, liquid would start to overflow.

In a secluded patch of woods at the edge of the world, he let loose. Blitz, fueled by a common despair and at the order of his trainer, smashed everything in sight. Stones cracked, trees toppled and burned, Pokémon fled as the flames consumed them; yet in the throes of madness, their cries went unheeded.

Leon slammed his fists over and over into the ground. Each time his knuckles came away bloodier. No matter how much of his blood he spilled, it’d never repay what he put Hop through. So he kept at it, screaming until his throat scorched raw and sobbing until his tear ducts ran dry.

In the aftermath, nursing his torn knuckles and laying on the ground whimpering while the last of the fire died out, he decided he had enough. For far too long he played the pliant puppet to forces above him, bending to their every whims, letting them string his movements along to make it look as though he had freedom of will.

Time for him to cut the strings.

* * *

“Leon, what a surprise! I must admit I didn’t expect you to come visit me so soon.” Rose settled into his finely gold and red embroidered plush chair and folded his hands onto his lap. Leon finished pouring tea for the both of them and brought their cups over to an equally decorated small table that separated the two chairs. “Aside from my lovely secretary, well, nobody seems to have the time to visit little old Rose.”

“Sorry it took so long, Chairman Rose, I’ve been…busy.” Leon nodded politely and took a sip of his scalding tea. “I hope you’ve been well?”

Rose chuckled and broadly gestured to the interior of his cell room. Statues, books, and baubles he collected over the years aligned the walls and shelves. A massive four-poster bed sat in the corner.

“They feed me well, they removed the cameras so I have my privacy. I suppose I can’t complain, really.” Rose took a sip of his tea as well. “Ah, Darjeeling! You always know which one to pick, my dear boy.” He then cast an appreciative gaze over Leon’s new attire. “And what’s this about calling me ‘Chairman’? It seems you fit the role better.”

Leon lowered his eyes demurely – just as he trained him – and blushed.

“I’m still new to it all, but thank you for your support.” Not too humble, not too proud, perfect. He’d been trying to curb his protégé’s ego and brasher tendencies for years now.

For nearly a minute, they lapsed into silence and sat with their cups and their own thoughts. Rose put down his with a sigh.

“Leon…I hope you know that I’m truly sorry about what happened. I only wanted what was best for Galar’s future. Hop was a bright, promising lad. Same with that boy I endorsed – ah, what was his name again? Their deaths were an unforeseeable side effect in my grand plans.”

A side effect? Leon bit down on his tongue.

“Please rest assured that their sacrifices will provide energy for our people for the next hundreds or thousands of years."

“Of course. Thank you, sir.”

He coolly watched over the rim of his cup when Rose started to cough, twist his face into a confused grimace, and then put a hand to his head. Leon kept his leg crossed and blank, dispassionate eyes on Rose when the older man hacked violently and gasped for breath.

Only when Rose pitched over to convulse and vomit blood on the floor did he set his cup on the table and make his way over. Leon bent over him and brushed away a stray lock of hair away with a gloved finger almost tenderly.

Oh, gloves, how clever of his dear protégé. Rose would’ve laughed if he wasn’t choking on blood and bile. He underestimated Leon.

“Don’t…h-huuurt…h-her…” Rose managed to wheeze out. Leon tilted his head, before realizing who he meant. So the man did have a heart after all.

“I won’t, you have my word,” Leon said, still crouching over him. Like him, Oleana was just another puppet strung along in Rose’s schemes. Besides, he always admired how hard she worked. Perhaps he’d have a spot for her at the Battle Tower.

Before going into a seizure, Rose muttered another apology.

“I know you're sorry, sir. And the rest of the world will know that too…that you couldn’t bear the guilt, the shame, and so you ended your own life.” Leon stood up to procure a letter from his pocket and placed it carefully on the table. He picked up his abandoned cup.

He faced the man who he once looked up to like a father – no, fathers weren’t supposed to disappoint, to abandon their families, to let their loved ones die. Except all the father figures in his life, himself included, disappointed so that’s all he ever knew. Maybe Rose was the perfect father after all.

“He didn’t die quickly,” Leon started, his voice monotonous, “so I hope you understand that yours can’t be either.” He knew the former Chairman could still hear him from the way he spasm and choked occasionally. “Rest assured I’ll lead Galar into a better future.” He turned around and left him to languish and die.

“Goodbye, Rose.”

* * *

During the ride back home on a Corviknight taxi, his Rotom phone rang constantly. A call from Sonia, and five from Raihan. He ignored them.

Instead, Leon personally made a call to the Galar Television Network in Wyndon.

“Pull all specials on the Second Darkest Day off the air. And if anyone thinks about covering it, tell them that I’ll pay them a _special_ visit.” While his voice never raised above its normal level, the other person on the line stammered and agreed.

He started to settle into his seat after the call when the cabbie shouted and waved to him.

“Mr. Leon, sir! Someone’s fainted down there – a boy, from the looks of it!” Leon peered out the window of the carriage and spotted a small prone form laying close to the trees that made up the Glimwood Tangle. He gave the order for the cabbie to descend.

Once they touched ground, he leapt out and hurried over to the boy’s side. Through the clothing ripped from thorns and possibly Pokémon, Leon could see the child’s ribcage sticking out. Only the rise and fall of his emaciated chest indicated he still lived. His curled brown hair had bits of foliage in them.

“Poor boy…what happened to you?” Leon clucked and brought him into his arms. He walked back over to the waiting cabbie. “Please hurry. I’ll see to him myself.”

* * *

Leon watched with a quirked eyebrow and half-smile as the boy inhaled the food set out. His light blue eyes sparkled and teared up at the taste of buttered crumpets, roasted chicken, and mashed potatoes with gravy.

“Hey, now, you’re going to choke if you eat too fast,” Leon chided gently and gave him a napkin. The boy paused to accept it, mutter an apology, and wipe his mouth.

“T-Thank you, Mr. Leon.”

“Just Leon will do. What’s your name?”

“Aster, Mr. Le- um, Leon.”

“And what were you doing all the way out there alone, Aster? Did you get lost?”

“No…wasn’t alone too, at first.” Forgetting all about the food, Aster teared up and bowed his head. “I was with my sis, Prim. Mum a-and Dad, they couldn’t afford us ‘nymore, so Dad took us out to th’ woods, said he wanted to show us somethin’. Then he left us there ‘n we tried to get back.” If he looked up, he would’ve seen the growing horror on the man’s face.

“God…your sister…did she…?” An icy pit formed in Leon’s stomach.

“I tried, I really tried! I gave her all th’ food I found but she…j-just stopped movin’ one morning, no matter how hard I shook her.” Aster’s tiny shoulders heaved with great, shuddering sobs. “B-Because I ate too much back home, P-Prim’s gone!” Salty tears dripped onto the forgotten food.

That icy pit flared up into a seething boil. How could any parent leave their children to die like that? Leon scooted his chair away and stood to comfort the boy. Aster clung to him, just like Hop did as a child.

“It’s okay now, everything’ll be alright. I’ll take care of you, I promise.”

* * *

“Ya sure I can have this, Lee? Wasn’t this your brother’s?”

The blue fur-lined jacket swamped his body and made him look smaller than he actually was, but at least it was warm.

“Of course. I’m sure he wouldn’t mind his jacket going to a good home. You’ll grow into it soon.” Leon smiled fondly and patted Aster’s brown curls. Brown. His lips twitched. Perhaps they’d looked better purple. And he could always find gold contacts.

“Can we go out, Lee? A-Always wanted to see th’ Ferris wheel, if it’s okay with you.”

“Sure we can, but maybe later. People might ask too many questions if they see us.” Aster shuddered. Large crowds made him uncomfortable and he didn’t want to attract more attention than necessary. “Promise me one thing, though.” The child made a noise to show he was listening. Leon bent down to place both hands on his shoulders.

“Promise me you won’t go out without me knowing. The world’s a dangerous place.” Aster took a second to comprehend his guardian’s grave request, and then nodded and hugged him.

“Promise, Lee.”

“Thanks, Hopscotch.” Aster giggled. What a funny name.

Leon hugged his new brother tightly.

His perfect brother.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to storm_aurora for the angsty idea that Bede wasn't worthy enough to be a hero. :'(
> 
> A note on Leon considering himself a father-like figure: in the game, it's mentioned that Leon basically helped raise Hop since their father's either not there or much of a presence, so I figured he'd see himself as both a big brother and a father.
> 
> If this was too angsty, here's a little something extra set in the mirror world's future:
> 
> In Wyndon plaza, visitors from around the region and the rest of the world stopped to gander at the new statue built in the center. A boy, his Dubwool, and the legendary Zacian stood proudly, built fully out of the sturdiest gold. Though people now forgot what color the hero's hair was, they remembered one thing: his eyes blazed the same color as the ore his statue was made out of.
> 
> And in whispers and bedtime stories, tales of Hop and Edie, how they saved Galar from destruction, were passed on.
> 
> ***
> 
> ...not sure if that's any better, but I tried lol.
> 
> Thank you to anyone and everyone who followed this story!


End file.
